Researchers closing in on pregnancy disorder

Lesley McCowan. Photo / Supplied

Fatty acid finding brings blood test closer for often fatal pre-eclampsia in pregnant women

Information collected from New Zealand women has helped give an international team of scientists and doctors a breakthrough in predicting a first-time pregnant woman's risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

After analysing samples from 7000 first-time mothers, most of them New Zealanders, the team was able to identify 14 simple metabolites or fatty acids that accurately predicted which women could developing pre-eclampsia.

The women provided blood samples after 20 weeks of gestation and the outcome of their pregnancies was also followed.

The findings, published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, came from the "screening for pregnancy end"points study, initiated at Auckland University.

The university's obstetrics and gynaecology head and co-author of the article, Professor Lesley McCowan, said the findings could be hugely important for identifying women at risk of pre-eclampsia.

"If we can easily identify at-risk women, we can prescribe preventative therapies and more intensive monitoring," she said.

There is no predictive test for the life-threatening condition that affects eight million women worldwide, 1650 in New Zealand, and kills 200,000 a year.

Pre-eclampsia is characterised by severe high blood pressure and elevated protein in the urine.

The mother can develop kidney or liver problems, stroke and seizures. The condition is thought to begin in early pregnancy with defective development of the placenta, and can also be life-threatening for the child.

Researchers last year also discovered a set of 33 proteins which predicted the development of pre-eclampsia. It pointed to a link between that condition and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

"What we want is to be able to offer a simple blood test which is cheap and readily accessible," said Professor McCowan. "This discovery puts us closer to that goal."