Birth injury news
13/05/2008

Pre-eclampsia may be curable with new research

Genetic research reported widely this weekend has suggested that a test for pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition that endangers the lives of babies and mothers-to-be every year, may soon be a reality on the nation's maternity wards.

The condition has been shown to be related to a gene called COMT, or catechol-O-methyltransferase. A pregnant woman's blood and urine can be put through a test, invented through this discovery, to show whether the pregnancy is at risk of a birth injury and - more importantly - to supplement levels of a chemical that appears to protect against pre-eclampsia.

Research on mice confirmed the hypothesis, and tests on humans are "being planned", according to the researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Harvard Medical School, near Boston.

Pre-eclampsia is reported in five percent of pregnancies, which leads to rapid rises in blood pressure, seizures and liver complications. If untreated, whether through patients ignoring symptoms or medical negligence, it can lead to a life-threatening condition, eclampsia, which produces seizures as the brain lacks blood.