Findings address pregnancy complication

Recent findings by VCU School of Medicine and international researchers could lead to novel avenues of treatment for pregnant women with preeclampsia — one of the most significant health problems in pregnancy worldwide and a leading cause of not only premature delivery, but also sickness and death of the mother and baby.

Researchers discovered that a significant increase of an enzyme in an expectant mother’s blood vessels may be responsible for the high blood pressure, swelling and protein in urine observed in women with preeclampsia. These enzymes make the mother’s blood vessels dysfunctional and more reactive to hormones that increase blood pressure.

A separate study, led by Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine, found that food bars containing a semi-essential amino acid and antioxidant vitamins may offer a simple nutritional intervention that could reduce the incidence of preeclampsia.

However, by isolating the enzymatic properties responsible for preeclampsia symptoms, researchers said their findings may lead to more clinical studies for potential treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies that could prevent the infiltration of white blood cells, as well as inhibitors that could curb the hypertensive reactivity of blood vessels.

This work was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Fogarty International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the NIH, and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia Y Technología.