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Preeclampsia

Presents Dangers for Both Mom and Baby

Preeclampsia (PE) is a complication of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure and damage to organs such as the kidney and liver. Preeclampsia usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women with normal blood pressure. PE can strike quickly, sometimes without any symptoms, potentially causing immediate complications such as eclampsia, seizures, and organ failure that threaten the health of the fetus and mother unless delivery is induced or produced surgically.

Preeclampsia is exclusively a human affliction, which suggests that the origins of the condition lie in the unique aspects of human placentation and gestational adaptation. Rather than a single disease entity, it is more likely to be a syndrome with a core set of common features with multiple associated causes and/or subtypes.

NX Prenatal's recent studies have begun to identify patterns to suggest molecular subtypes of preeclampsia that can identify early-onset versus late-onset cases.

Lowering Preeclampsia Deaths

Nearly 76,000 mothers and 500,000 babies worldwide lose their lives to Preeclampsia each year.  Worldwide, approximately 5% of pregnancies are complicated by preeclampsia (up to 8% in the US). More concerning is the dramatic association with maternal mortality.  Up to 25% of maternal deaths in the developing world, and 16% in economically advanced societies, are associated with preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is two-fold more common in first pregnancies, with part of the difference in prevalence between regions due to the availability and sophistication of medical care in addition to underlying age and parity differences within populations.

This life-threatening complication is a well-known unmet clinical need, and NX Prenatal's first-trimester early detection efforts are key to improving outcomes for mothers and babies.

List of Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • T.F. McElrath, D.E. Cantonwine, K.J. Gray, H. Mirzakhani, R.C. Doss, N. Khaja, M. Khalid, G. Page, B. Brohman, Z. Zhang, D. Sarracino, K.P. Rosenblatt, Late first trimester circulating microparticle proteins predict the risk of preeclampsia < 35 weeks and suggest phenotypic differences among affected cases. Sci Rep. 10(1):17353 (2020). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-74078-w.
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