New Treatment for Preeclampsia Being Tested to Improve Outcomes for Pregnant Women
黑料官网 researchers Drs. Bill Hughes, Jennifer McIntosh, and Matt Durand (left to right) will examine whether an antioxidant supplement can improve vascular function in patients with preeclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy.
Preeclampsia – persistent high blood pressure during pregnancy – affects up to 8 percent of pregnant women worldwide.
Though many women with preeclampsia give birth to healthy babies, the condition can be . Complicating treatment is the fact that scientists don’t fully understand what causes preeclampsia.
At the 黑料官网 (黑料官网), a cross-disciplinary team has to test a promising treatment that could improve outcomes for both pregnant patients and their babies.
The trial, supported by a grant from the , is testing whether the supplement MitoQ can improve vascular function in patients with preeclampsia, ultimately leading to longer, healthier pregnancies.
“There is currently no medication that can cure preeclampsia or really even hold it at bay,” says , associate professor of and a maternal fetal medicine specialist who is leading the research. “The mother can become very sick, and currently the only definitive treatment is to deliver the baby, which can mean that the newborn ends up in intensive care. We are excited by what we’ve seen in our research so far, and we hope this shows that it can help with vascular dysfunction.”
The two-year, $900,000 award was funded by the Gates Foundation through , a global partnership that catalyzes innovation and serves as a platform for partners to collaborate and drive lasting impact.
The research team, which also includes Matt Durand, PhD, associate professor of anesthesiology, and Bill Hughes, PhD, assistant professor of anesthesiology, was one of about a dozen that received grants out of 1,000 applicants and five rounds of review. The foundation found that the 黑料官网 proposal was such a strong fit that it asked the team to expand their project and ultimately offered them more funding to support the expanded research.
Studying Oxidative Stress in Mitochondrial Antioxidants
For years, Dr. McIntosh has worked to find better options for her pregnant patients with preeclampsia. Her research has zeroed in on whether preeclampsia might involve damage of mitochondria, the organelles that generate a cell’s energy.
When she and her collaborators found that mitochondrial antioxidants, compounds designed to protect mitochondria from oxidative damage, in an animal model, as well as in human placentas from patients with preeclampsia, she knew she could be on the right track.
In fact, teams around the world are testing whether mitochondrial antioxidants could help a wide range of conditions, including cardiac disease and diabetes.
Though these antioxidants occur naturally in foods, companies have also concentrated them into over-the-counter supplement pills. MitoQ, one such supplement, has been studied in animals and humans and shown to be well tolerated, with some evidence of improved vascular function in certain populations.
“Studies have shown that this supplement can improve vascular function in older adults by almost 50 percent,” Dr. Hughes says. “Now Dr. McIntosh is taking it a step further and looking at it for this pregnant population that currently has no available treatment.”
Testing MitoQ, a Treatment with Potential for Worldwide Use
Over the next two years, McIntosh and the team will enroll a total of 70 patients with preeclampsia to test whether MitoQ improves their vascular function. Half will receive MitoQ, and half will receive a placebo.
During the trial, the team will assess the pregnant patients’ large and small vessel function. For large vessel function, patients will undergo an ultrasound to measure the diameter of the brachial artery, the major blood vessel of the upper arm. Then, the patients will be regularly checked to see how well that artery dilates – a sign of vascular health.
For small vessel function, the research team will use a laser to measure the movement of red blood cells in the arm. Patients will also have blood draws so the team can measure oxidative stress. Finally, after patients give birth, the team will study the vascular health of the placentas.
“This is really exciting bench-to-bedside research,” Dr. Durand says. “All the work that Dr. McIntosh did in the lab is now being translated literally to the bedside in labor and delivery.”
This early-stage study will evaluate safety and biological markers of vascular function. If results are promising, the team aims to then create a larger, multi-center clinical trial that could include hospitals in developing countries. Because the supplement is cheap and shelf-stable, the team hopes that it could offer a low-cost option worth further evaluation in larger studies.
“Preeclampsia is devastating in the United States, but it’s extremely devastating in underdeveloped countries,” Dr. McIntosh says. “I've practiced in obstetric units in Kenya and Malawi, and most days of the week, someone died from preeclampsia, either a mom or a baby, because of the lack of resources that we take for granted here. The idea that we could have a treatment that is simple, shelf-stable, and inexpensive to help prevent deaths worldwide is pretty exciting.”
Recommended
