Preeclampsia

A disappointing new study has found that vitamin C and E supplements given to healthy pregnant women do not reduce their risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication that can be lethal to both the woman and her fetus. Preeclampsia happens when vessels in the womb constrict, cutting off blood and oxygen to the fetus. It occurs in late pregnancy and produces an increase in blood pressure. The condition kills about 76,000 women and fetuses a year worldwide.

A new test that analyzes a panel of 14 different chemicals in the bloodstream of pregnant women may eventually become a diagnostic tool for determining whether women are at high risk of developing preeclampsia, researchers said Monday. The research team that developed it said it could be on the market in four to five years, but outside experts predicted that a commercial test would take longer than that, if it can ever be developed. More than 6 million women around the world and 270,000 in the United States suffer preeclampsia during pregnancy each year.

A new test that analyzes a panel of 14 different chemicals in the bloodstream of pregnant women may eventually become a diagnostic tool for determining whether women are at high risk of developing preeclampsia, researchers said Monday. The research team that developed it said it could be on the market in four to five years, but outside experts predicted that a commercial test would take longer than that, if it can ever be developed. More than 6 million women around the world and 270,000 in the United States suffer preeclampsia during pregnancy each year.

Two studies released Wednesday have linked toxic air pollution in Southern California to high cancer rates and complications with birth. Exposure to traffic-generated pollution increased the risk of major complications and premature birth, a report published in Environmental Health Perspectives online concluded. By measuring pregnant women's exposure to chemicals emitted by local traffic, the researchers concluded that the risk for preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to maternal and perinatal death, increased by as much as 42% at the highest exposures.

There was a time--just a few decades ago--when pregnancy was considered relatively dangerous. Today, because of improved medical care, a woman's risk of serious complications or death during pregnancy and delivery is extremely low. Nevertheless, one serious problem continues to plague pregnant women and obstetricians: preeclampsia. During the last decade, the rate of preeclampsia has increased by nearly one-third, and the condition currently affects about 8% of all pregnancies.

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of life-threatening preeclampsia during pregnancy five-fold, Pennsylvania researchers reported Friday. Some researchers have suspected that low levels of vitamin D contribute to the disorder, which is characterized by soaring blood pressure and swelling of the hands and feet, but the new study is the first to examine its role directly.

Researchers have made a major step toward the diagnosis and possible treatment of preeclampsia, a sometimes lethal complication of pregnancy that affects as many as 200,000 American women each year. A team in Boston and Washington found that the levels of one protein in the blood of pregnant women were sharply elevated and those of another protein were abnormally low as much as five weeks before the women developed preeclampsia.

Boston researchers have discovered the elusive cause of preeclampsia, the sometimes fatal complication of pregnancy that affects about 200,000 U.S. women each year. Studying pregnant women, a team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center discovered that the disorder is associated with high levels of a protein that narrows blood vessels, impeding the flow of blood and oxygen. When they then induced high levels of the protein in rats, the animals developed the symptoms of preeclampsia, Dr. S.

One of the most dangerous and baffling complications of pregnancy is increasing among American women, a condition called pre-eclampsia that can be life-threatening to both mother and fetus. Doctors don't know what causes or how to prevent pre-eclampsia--and the only cure is delivery, which can be risky depending on how premature the baby is. And with more and more older mothers and multiple births, the frightening condition isn't likely to diminish soon.

Kim's Tuesday morning visit to the doctor on May 27, 1997, was supposed to be no big deal, just a regular checkup to see how everything was going. At the time, Kim was six months pregnant with our twin girls. I was working in my home office that morning when Kim called from her doctor's office in Winchester, Va. "They're sending me to the hospital," Kim told me matter-of-factly.

Pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly disorder that strikes about 5% of pregnant women, may be an autoimmune disease, Texas researchers reported Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. The team injected mice with antibodies isolated from women with the disorder, and the mice showed symptoms of the problem, including dangerously high blood pressure, protein in the urine and placental abnormalities. The effects of the antibodies could be blocked with the drug losartan, but the medication cannot be used in pregnant women because it can harm a fetus.

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of life-threatening preeclampsia during pregnancy five-fold, Pennsylvania researchers reported Friday. Some researchers have suspected that low levels of vitamin D contribute to the disorder, which is characterized by soaring blood pressure and swelling of the hands and feet, but the new study is the first to examine its role directly.

Two proteins secreted by the placenta may be responsible for virtually all cases of preeclampsia, a severe complication of pregnancy that can be fatal to a mother or her baby, researchers report today. Abnormally high levels of the proteins could be used to predict the development of the disorder weeks before symptoms occur, experts said, and the findings suggest new ways to treat the problem.

Taking multivitamins around the time of conception dramatically reduces a woman's risk of preeclampsia, a complication during pregnancy that can be lethal to a woman and her fetus, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh report. Women who took multivitamins at least once a week three months before the start of pregnancy and three months after were 45% less likely to develop preeclampsia compared with women who did not take supplements, the study found.

A disappointing new study has found that vitamin C and E supplements given to healthy pregnant women do not reduce their risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication that can be lethal to both the woman and her fetus. Preeclampsia happens when vessels in the womb constrict, cutting off blood and oxygen to the fetus. It occurs in late pregnancy and produces an increase in blood pressure. The condition kills about 76,000 women and fetuses a year worldwide.

Researchers have made a major step toward the diagnosis and possible treatment of preeclampsia, a sometimes lethal complication of pregnancy that affects as many as 200,000 American women each year. A team in Boston and Washington found that the levels of one protein in the blood of pregnant women were sharply elevated and those of another protein were abnormally low as much as five weeks before the women developed preeclampsia.

Two proteins secreted by the placenta may be responsible for virtually all cases of preeclampsia, a severe complication of pregnancy that can be fatal to a mother or her baby, researchers report today. Abnormally high levels of the proteins could be used to predict the development of the disorder weeks before symptoms occur, experts said, and the findings suggest new ways to treat the problem.

Two studies released Wednesday have linked toxic air pollution in Southern California to high cancer rates and complications with birth. Exposure to traffic-generated pollution increased the risk of major complications and premature birth, a report published in Environmental Health Perspectives online concluded. By measuring pregnant women's exposure to chemicals emitted by local traffic, the researchers concluded that the risk for preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to maternal and perinatal death, increased by as much as 42% at the highest exposures.

Boston researchers have discovered the elusive cause of preeclampsia, the sometimes fatal complication of pregnancy that affects about 200,000 U.S. women each year. Studying pregnant women, a team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center discovered that the disorder is associated with high levels of a protein that narrows blood vessels, impeding the flow of blood and oxygen. When they then induced high levels of the protein in rats, the animals developed the symptoms of preeclampsia, Dr. S.

There was a time--just a few decades ago--when pregnancy was considered relatively dangerous. Today, because of improved medical care, a woman's risk of serious complications or death during pregnancy and delivery is extremely low. Nevertheless, one serious problem continues to plague pregnant women and obstetricians: preeclampsia. During the last decade, the rate of preeclampsia has increased by nearly one-third, and the condition currently affects about 8% of all pregnancies.