Testing to detectect Preeclampsia sooner

     For my last post I will be discussing studies that have been done by doctors and the Preeclampsia Foundation to help detect cognitive difficulties post-partum, genetics, and test screenings for early detection of the disease. After I got past my Preeclampsia I continued to have problems with my blood pressure, weight, and cognitive memory. The Preeclampsia Foundation along with many doctors from the Netherlands to the university of Washington conducted a study with 1,000 participants assessing cognitive function based on an online survey. Many formerly preeclamptic women report difficulties with memory or word choice and they wanted to figure out if there are changes in the brain from the disease or the trauma of the disease itself. The study found that women with a history of preeclampsia scored significantly lower in all three assessments.

 "More and more information is emerging suggesting that preeclampsia is a condition with long term implications," explained the lead author on the study, Dr. Ineke Postma. "Preeclampsia can be a very emotional and sometimes traumatizing experience with some women complaining about ongoing memory or attention-deficit problems. In order to provide adequate long term support to preeclampsia survivors, we need to identify the actual scope of the problem. This study is an important step in that direction."

In another study, 147 sisters, 248 daughters, 74 granddaughters, and 131 daughter-in-laws who have had preeclampsia or eclampsia have found that this disease is highly inheritable. They did a single gene condition and multifactorial condition and found that the single gene condition with frequency of putative gene by .25.

Dr.Vesna Garovic (Mayo Clinic) studied the use of urinary podocytes as a test for preeclampsia, Podocytes are cells which line the blood vessels in the kidneys and act as filters which keep protein in the bloodstream. Their loss allows protein to spill into the urine, one of the primary signs of preeclampsia.They used 267 women and collected urine between 25-28 weeks gestation and 15 women went on to develop preeclampsia and all had podocytes in their system.



Works cited:
 http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2011/12/04/116-podocytes-and-the-big-story

http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2012/04/04/126-could-preeclampsia-affect-your-brain

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1986.tb08006.x/abstract

Vision Research and Brain Affects

  So as you already know, part of the diagnosis of Preeclampsia is protein found in the urine. It is also found in the placenta and blood levels. A Stanford University professor, Dr. Nihar R. Nayak and his team are doing research to better understand the role of certain placental proteins in the development of Preeclampsia.  His 2011 Vision Grant Research Project main goal is to find how proteins act in the placenta during Preeclampsia and used a mouse model system while testing various therapeutic approaches to Preeclampsia. His team also developed a way to study how genes act in the placentas of mice. Genes play an important role in placental development during pregnancy. Their hope is that with these new discoveries that this will be a better way to see and identify abnormal genes which will in return, help researchers learn about why protein levels tend to be higher in a Preeclampsia pregnancy than a normal pregnancy.

A protein called sFlt-1 is found in the blood at a higher level when a woman has preeclampsia. Understanding this protein will have a direct impact on the design of  clinical therapies for Preeclampsia. They are testing this on the mice by completely removing the sFlt-1 protein from the placenta by telling it to not make this protein at all. Another protein called VEGF also acts in higher levels during a preeclamptic pregnancy.

The study should be concluded at the end of the year and sent off for publication.

Next time I'll discuss National preeclampsia month and can preeclampsia affect the mother's brain too?







Works Cited:

Administrator. "Vision Grant Researcher Reports Successful Methodology to Study Placental Proteins." Vision Grant Researcher Reports Successful Methodology to Study Placental Proteins. Preeclampsia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. <http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2012/09/30/152-vision-grant-researcher-reports-successful-methodology-to-study-placental-proteins>.