Press cutting: Pregnancy test gives doctors more time to detect condition that kills

A simple test for pregnant women could predict a serious complication weeks in advance.

A team led by British scientists has developed the test for pre-eclampsia, which causes 22,000 maternal deaths worldwide every year. …

A team led by Professor Thomas Rademacher [UCL Immunology & Molecular Pathology] has found that testing for the presence of a protein called inositol phosphoglycan P-type in the urine gives a reliable indication that the condition is developing. …

Professor Rademacher said: "Being able to predict the onset of this disease has been the single greatest challenge in obstetric medicine.

"Pre-eclampsia is the most common of the serious complications that can occur during pregnancy and affects millions of women and children. It is a particular problem in the developing world, where treatment is less readily available.

"Our research has identified that the presence of inositol phosphoglycan P type is a reliable indicator of whether a pregnant woman will develop PE. Now a reliable diagnostic test has been developed, this paves the way for identifying new treatments." …

"PE is presently only curable by delivery," Professor Rademacher said. "In many cases clinicians must deliver a baby in order to save its mother's life, even if this means the baby is born prematurely."

Nigel Hawkes, 'The Times'