Pre eclampsia News and Research

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Pre-eclampsia is a medical condition where hypertension arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine. Pre-eclampsia refers to a set of symptoms rather than any causative factor, and there are many different causes for the condition.

Research on pre-eclampsia in mice may have important implications for humans

In a new March of Dimes-funded study of pre-eclampsia, a serious and potentially deadly disorder that affects about 5 percent of pregnancies, researchers have found results in mice that may have important implications for diagnosis and treatment in humans.

27 Jul 2008

A possible cure for pre-eclampsia

A condition which affects one in every ten pregnancies and is responsible for 1,000 baby deaths in Britain each year may have a genetic cause.

13 May 2008

New clues into how preeclampsia may surface in some pregnancies

The COMT gene - known already for its role in schizophrenia - has been found to play a role in preeclampsia, according to a report in the advance on-line issue of Nature.

11 May 2008

Mothers' high normal blood sugar levels place infants at risk for birth problems

Pregnant women with blood sugar levels in the higher range of normal - but not high enough to be considered diabetes - are more likely than women with lower blood sugar levels to give birth to babies at risk for many of the same problems seen in babies born to women with diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study funded in large part by the National Institutes of Health.

8 May 2008

Mothers and offspring can share cells throughout life - with positive and negative effects

Cutting the umbilical cord doesn't necessarily sever the physical link between mother and child. Many cells pass back and forth between the mother and fetus during pregnancy and can be detected in the tissues and organs of both even decades later. This mixing of cells from two genetically distinct individuals is called microchimerism. The phenomenon is the focus of an increasing number of scientists who wonder what role these cells play in the body.

30 Apr 2008

Chocolate good for pregnant women

According to scientific research in the U.S. eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate, during pregnancy is good for mother and baby.

29 Apr 2008

Smoking and pre-eclampsia

Pregnant women who suffer from the high risk condition pre-eclampsia which leads to the death of hundreds of babies every year are putting the lives of their unborn children at significantly increased risk if they continue to smoke during pregnancy.

26 Feb 2008

Pre-eclampsia linked to herpes virus

Australian researchers have discovered a viral link which they believe may help explain high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and pre-term birth.

18 Feb 2008

Study explains preeclampsia develops

In a study of pregnant women, those with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure were found to have higher levels of a peptide that raises blood pressure in the pieces of tissue linking mother and fetus, according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

11 Feb 2008

Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E don't prevent pre-eclampsia

Taking vitamins C or E during pregnancy will not reduce a woman's risk of experiencing pre-eclampsia, a Cochrane Systematic Review has concluded.

24 Jan 2008

Placenta uses a cloaking device similar to that used by parasites

The placenta uses a cloaking device similar to that used by parasites to avoid detection by the mother's immune system. MRC funded scientists looking to develop a diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia, a major and potentially fatal cause of fetal and maternal illness, made the amazing discovery which could have far reaching implications.

13 Nov 2007

New studies add weight to link between pre-eclampsia and heart disease

Two studies, published together on bmj.com, add further weight to the theory that pre-eclampsia and cardiovascular diseases may share common causes or mechanisms.

2 Nov 2007

Obese moms-to-be should gain less weight than currently recommended

Severely obese women should lose weight during pregnancy, while obese women who are pregnant should gain less weight than currently recommended, a Saint Louis University study finds.

2 Oct 2007

Digibind offers new hopes for pre-eclampsia cure

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston are trying to determine whether a drug already available to heart patients can also be used to delay delivery in expectant mothers with severe preeclampsia.

17 Sep 2007

Link found between a lack of vitamin D and pre-eclampsia

Researchers in the United States have found an association between vitamin D levels in pregnant women and the risk of pre-eclampsia; they say women who have a vitamin D deficiency early in their pregnancy are at risk from pre-eclampsia.

9 Sep 2007

Pregnancy-induced hypertension

Warnings signs such as increased stress could indicate that pregnancy-induced hypertension is reaching life-threatening levels, found Temple University researcher Kathleen Black, DNSc, RNC, the author of a study in the September/October issue of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing.

3 Sep 2007