Preeclampsia is said to be a medical condition where hypertension appears to occur during pregnancy in relationship with considerable quantities of protein found in the urine. A study from Yale School of Medicine claims that they have crafted an easy urine test to swiftly forecast and detect preeclampsia.
Referred to as the ‘Congo Red Dot Test’ by the study team, the test is said to have precisely diagnosed preeclampsia in a study of around 347 pregnant women, thereby enabling health care providers to provide enhanced defensive care to pregnant women.
The World Health Organization approximates that around 63,000 pregnant women pass away every year owing to acute preeclampsia, in addition to an associated condition called eclampsia, which may be the reason for unexpected, spastic seizures.
Lead study author Irina Buhimschi, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine, commented, “There is a critical need in the developing world for low-cost diagnostics for preeclampsia. This test will help identify high-risk patients that should be transported from remote settings to facilities where there is access to specialized care for preeclampsia, such as magnesium sulfate therapy.”
Buhimschi is of the opinion that in spite of its efficiency in averting eclamptic seizures, magnesium sulfate is said to be underutilized in developing countries. This is believed to be due in part to the requirement of reliable and low-cost means to recognize preeclampsia patients who appeared to be in need of intervention, which the test may offer. She mentioned that the test possibly detects women who are required to deliver their babies instantly, thereby decreasing the occurrence of pointless early birth, since delivery appears to be the only effectual treatment for preeclampsia.
The team also discovered that the Congo Red Dot Test may also be applied as an indicator for evaluating misfolded proteins. The test is claimed to be based on a general red dye, initially utilized to stain textiles, that appears to follow misfolded proteins. Preceding studies by Buhimschi and her team appears to have discovered that preeclampsia may be a pregnancy-specific protein misfolding disease.
The study was presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) in Chicago.