Researchers say a new tool that speeds the diagnosis of preeclampsia in pregnant women could reduce the number of miscarriages and premature births.
American Biogenetic Sciences (ABS) of Copiague, New York, told physicians attending the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting that their newly patented device can diagnose preeclampsia in minutes.
The device measures levels of thrombus precursor protein (TPP), which researchers at New York University School of Medicine discovered was lower in pregnant women who are about to develop preeclampsia, also known as toxemia. The condition can endanger fetuses and also cause death or seizures among pregnant women.
The company recently began clinical trials of the handheld disposable testing device.
"While these results are preliminary and further clinical trials need to be done, I can foresee a time when TPP testing, a simple blood analysis, could become a valuable addition to a panel of standard tests for the millions of women who become pregnant each year," said John S. North, president and CEO of ABS, in a statement issued last week.
Currently, the only test for toxemia must be sent to a lab for testing and it can take weeks to deliver the results. The lab test was approved in 1997.
Blood clotting is one symptom of preeclampsia that often occurs in women with hypertension, usually during the second half of pregnancy. The disorder can block oxygen and nutrients from traveling to an unborn baby via the placenta.
