Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a breakthrough in identifying pregnant women who are at risk of developing preeclampsia. This disorder, characterized by high blood pressure and kidney dysfunction, can lead to premature delivery, seizures, and even death.
Preeclampsia is the second-leading cause of maternal death worldwide, making this discovery a significant advancement in healthcare.
Led by Charles E. Chalfant, the UVA scientists found that they could predict the risk of preeclampsia by analyzing lipids, or fats, in women’s blood during pregnancy. This promising finding opens the door for simple blood tests to identify and screen at-risk patients.
What’s remarkable is that the approach works regardless of whether the women are on aspirin therapy, a common treatment for those thought to be at risk.
Preeclampsia affects up to 7% of pregnancies globally. Symptoms typically arise after 20 weeks and include high blood pressure, kidney problems, and abnormalities in blood clotting. The condition is also associated with serious complications like liver dysfunction, seizures, and an increased lifetime risk of heart disease for mothers. Sadly, an estimated 70,000 women die each year due to preeclampsia and its complications.
While low-dose aspirin is often recommended for at-risk women, it only works for about half of patients and needs to be initiated before symptoms appear, making early identification of at-risk women crucial.
Chalfant and his team sought to uncover biological indicators in the blood that could reveal the risk of developing preeclampsia. They analyzed blood plasma samples from 57 women in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy and determined whether they later developed preeclampsia. Significantly, the researchers discovered differences in “bioactive lipids” in the blood of women who developed preeclampsia compared to those who did not.
“Although alterations in some blood lipid levels have been known to occur in preeclampsia, they have not been endorsed as useful biomarkers,” said Chalfant, of the School of Medicine’s Division of Hematology and Oncology and the Department of Cell Biology. “The lipid ‘signature’ we described could significantly improve the ability to identify patients needing preventative treatment, like aspirin, or more careful monitoring for early signs of disease so that treatment could be initiated in a timely fashion.”
This groundbreaking finding allows doctors to assess women’s risk of developing preeclampsia by monitoring lipid changes in their blood. These changes serve as a vital “lipid fingerprint” and could be instrumental in identifying, preventing, and improving treatment for the condition.
“The application of our comprehensive lipid profiling method to routine obstetrical care could significantly reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality,” Chalfant said. “It represents an example of how personalized medicine could address a significant public health challenge.”
The findings by Chalfant and his team have been published in the Journal of Lipid Research. The multi-disciplinary team involved Daniel J. Stephenson, H. Patrick MacKnight, L. Alexis Hoeferlin, Sonya L. Washington, Chelsea Sawyers, Kellie J. Archer, Jerome F. Strauss III, Scott W. Walsh, and Chalfant. It’s important to note that the researchers have no financial interests in this work.
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