Substance in urine predicts development of pr...( an one baby or with long-term high bloo...),Health

an one baby or with long-term high blood pressure--are known to be at high risk for preeclampsia, explained the study's first author, Richard Levine, M.D., M.P.H., of NICHD's Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research. However, the vast majority of cases strike without warning, in first-time mothers. Usually, a pregnant woman with preeclampsia develops dangerously high blood pressure and begins excreting protein in the urine. In some cases, the condition may progress to eclampsia, a series of potentially fatal seizures. Although the high blood pressure and seizures can be treated, the only cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the baby. Combined estimates of preeclampsia and other hypertension disorders during pregnancy range from 5.9 to 8 percent of all pregnancies in the United States.

In cases where the condition does not progress to eclampsia, infants born to mothers with preeclampsia may be extremely small for their gestational age or may be born prematurely. These conditions, in turn, place the infants at risk for a variety of other birth complications, among them blindness, cerebral palsy, or mental retardation.

To conduct the study, the researchers analyzed stored urine samples of 120 women who developed preeclampsia and compared them to samples from 118 women who did not develop preeclampsia. The analysis was performed on stored samples collected at three intervals during the women's pregnancies. The urine samples were collected as part of a separate NICHD study published in 1997, which found that pregnant women could not lower their chances of getting preeclampsia by taking calcium supplements.

In the current study, urinary levels of PlGF were significantly lower for the women who subsequently developed preeclampsia than they were for the 118 women who did not develop the condition. For the women who developed preeclampsia, low levels of PlGF were apparent beginning at the 25th through the 28th week of pr
'"/>

Contact: Bob Bock or Marianne Glass Miller
bockr@mail.nih.gov
301-496-5133
NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
4-Jan-2005

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related medicine news :

1. Substance protects resilient staph bacteria
2. Substance use, social stress compromise pregnant womens immune system
3. Substance found in sharks could lead to weight loss drug, research shows
4. Substance abuse increases in New York City in aftermath of September 11th
5. Substance Discovered That Induces Hair Follicle Formation In The Mature Skin Cells Of Mice
6. Steroids May Reverse Loss Of Substance Tied To Nervous-System Diseases
7. 18 Millionth Chemical Substance Entered In Worlds Largest Database Of ChemicalInformation
8. Substance from Grapefruit Juice May Make Medications Safer
9. Shark-Liver Substance May Slow Growth Of Brain Tumors
10. Proteins found in urine of pregnant women could help diagnose preeclampsia
11. New evaluation tool reliably predicts recovery from coma