New Test Predicts Risk of Pre-Eclampsia Early

Scientists have identified an early marker that helps in predicting a woman's risk of developing pre-eclampsia in pregnancy before the actual onset of the condition.

A team of researchers from the University of London found that the number of capillaries, the smallest blood vessels located inside body tissues that transfer blood from arteries to veins, could exactly predict the risk of pre-eclampsia during early pregnancy.

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that triggers hypertension and leaves a negative impact on both the pregnant woman and her baby. Between 5 and 8 percent of pregnancies in the United States are affected by this condition. Women suffering from pre-eclampsia will have high blood pressure, fluid retention and protein in the urine, which leads to an adverse impact on the growth of the unborn baby in the uterus. The exact cause of this condition is not yet fully known.

The current study is a re-confirmation of a previous study conducted by researchers in 2001. The 2001 study found women who were diagnosed with pre-eclampsia during the last stages of pregnancy having a lesser number of capillaries compared to pregnant women without the condition.

For the current study, researchers included more than 300 pregnant women. The number of blood vessels during early pregnancy were counted and monitored.  Women with a decreased number of capillaries were found at greater risks of pre-eclampsia compared to others. Using the test, researchers were able to predict the risk of pre-eclampsia even at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

A reduced number of capillaries affects the normal blood flow, leading to hypoxia (the condition where body tissues fail to receive sufficient levels of oxygen), further leading to the development of pre-eclampsia, researchers said, while explaining the factors that lead to the condition.

The new test also succeeded in providing a more accurate diagnosis of pre-eclampsia early, compared to the uterine artery Doppler scan being used presently.

"We found that the predictive value of measuring [relative] changes in the capillaries far exceeds that of [the uterine Doppler] scan that is currently used," lead author of the study, Tarek Antonios said in a news release. "If the results of this research are confirmed in a larger study, this technique could change clinical practice and be used as a novel way to predict preeclampsia so that more timely medical care can be provided to these pregnant women and prevent thousands of women and hundreds of thousands of infants from dying from this disease."

The findings of the study were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session recently.