Scientists say they have identified genetic errors that appear to increase a pregnant woman’s chance of getting the condition called pre-eclampsia.
Pre-eclampsia is an abnormal state of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, fluid retention and albuminuria. If not detected and managed early it can be potentially life-threatening.
Approximately four in every 100 women develops this problem of high blood pressure and leaky kidneys during pregnancy. Black women are more likely to get high blood pressure and preeclampsia than white women. In African, pre-eclampsia occurs in 10% of pregnancies, which is significantly higher than the global average of approximately 4%.
Now researchers have found a faulty DNA which may be blamed in some cases. The report is presented in the journal PLoS Medicine. It is a discovery that could lead the way to identify and treat women at risk before it becomes life-threatening.
The US researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis analyzed DNA from over 300 pregnant women.
Sixty of these were healthy women but were hospitalized because they developed severe pre-eclampsia. The remaining 240 were women were under surveillance for other health complications. Forty of these also went on to develop pre-eclampsia.
Researchers analyzed the DNA from the subjects and found that some genetic errors were shared by five of the 60 healthy women and seven of the 40 “higher-risk pregnancy” women who developed pre-eclampsia.
The faulty DNA were located on genes that play a role in regulating immune response, confirming the suspicion that scientists had that pre-eclampsia could be provoked by hitches in the immune response. Generally, women with autoimmune diseases such as lupus have an increased risk of pre-eclampsia
The researchers plan to study more pregnant women and other genes to further their understanding.
Currently, the best way to stop the progress of pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby. This contributes to the statistics of pre-mature babies who are at increased risks of several complications.
Further studies into these faulty genes may help to establish a protocol to identify women at increased risk of pre-eclampsia and put them on increased surveillance as early as possible in their pregnancy.
In communities where access to medical services is limited or unaffordable such as common in most African countries, these findings reveal promising potential for women in their pregnancies.
