A pregnant woman having a sonogram. Credit: John Fedele/ Getty Images
An international research team has devised a simple blood test that can be used to predict the risk of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy before any clinical signs appear1.
Pre-eclampsia causes high blood pressure in pregnant women and can be fatal. The new test could give an early warning of the condition by analysing RNA molecules circulating in the bloodstream of expectant mothers.
Pre-eclampsia affects up to 1 in 12 pregnancies, with a higher lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease and death.
The research team, which included a scientist from the Center for Public Health Kinetics in New Delhi, India, analysed cell-free (cf) RNA molecules from more than 1,800 women of various ages, ethnicities and body masses at different stages of their pregnancies.
The researchers collected blood samples from women who were between 16 and 27 weeks of gestation. They compared cfRNA signatures in plasma from 72 women who developed pre-eclampsia with those of 452 women who did not.
The team identified seven genes with expression levels that consistently differentiated the disease from normal pregnancy. Four of the genes had previously been associated with either pre-eclampsia or placental development.
The researchers created a mathematical model to analyse cfRNA signatures and estimate the probability of pre-eclampsia. The model showed a sensitivity of 75%, meaning it could identify three-quarters of the eventual cases of pre-eclampsia.
The findings could open new therapeutic options to reduce disease and mortality rates among pregnant women.
