Active clinical trials for "Pre-Eclampsia"

Aims: Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Preeclampsia frequency is 2-8% from all pregnancies. Dietary factors and dietary status have been suggested to play a role in development of preeclampsia. Low intake of nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids, is related to increased risk of preeclampsia. Also high triglyceride levels, high BMI, low Omega 6: omega 3 ratio and high calories consumption are possible risk factors. Material and Methods: A prospective study will be carried out. Woman medically diagnosed as high risk for preeclampsia will randomly be assigned to dietary treatment or no dietary treatment groups. In the dietary treatment group, besides medical care, all woman will get calcium and vitamin D supplementation from 8th to 16th gestational weeks, and thereafter until delivery personal extensive nutritional guidance. A 3 day food diary will be collected at inclusion and thereafter at Gestational weeks 16 and 28. All routinely collected data during pregnancy (blood tests, weight, blood pressure and preeclampsia symptoms) will be documented. In both groups incidence of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, blood pressure and protein in urine will be recorded.

The hypothesis of this study is that many plasma proteins are altered in concentration and structure in preeclampsia and the elucidation of these alterations will add to the poorly understood pathophysiology of preeclampsia. In this study we will compare the maternal plasma proteomes of early-onset severe preeclampsia versus healthy controls, compare protein expression and quantification of the maternal plasma proteome at the time of diagnosis of EOS-preeclampsia to the plasma proteome of the same affected subject at 48 hours post delivery and we will verify the placental expression of differentially expressed or post-translationally modified proteins found in the plasma of women with EOS-preeclampsia.

This retrospective review will will attempt to determine whether our data show a significant difference in number of deliveries of women with pre-eclampsia compared to deliveries without pre-eclampsia during certain months of the year.

The study is focused on the investigation of possible associations between plasma/serum levels of agouti related peptide (AgRP) and its genetic background in healthy women with physiological pregnancy (non-preeclamptic) and women with preeclampsia, in the postpartum period, and in their offspring.

Infections affecting the mother during pregnancy may produce alterations in the normal cytokine and hormone-regulated gestation, which could result in preeclampsia, preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, and preterm birth. Therefore, pregnant women with periodontal disease may show an alteration in the cytokine levels which may cause preeclampsia in them.

In this study we hypothesized that low-dose aspirin therapy (100 mg daily) improves ovarian responsiveness, uterine haemodynamics and clinical pregnancy rates in unselected subjects undergoing IVF/ICSI when the treatment is started concomitantly with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation.

The effects of physical exercise on pregnancy remain to be elucidated. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to study the impact of exercise on maternal and perinatal outcomes. Our hypothesis is that physical exercise reduces preeclampsia incidence and improves birthweight when started early in pregnancy, with no impact on pregnancy duration, Apgar scores and neonatal complications.

This study will examine a possible genetic basis for preeclampsia, a disorder of high blood pressure and protein in the urine during pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a major pregnancy complication affecting both mother and baby. Previous research has shown that preeclampsia tends to run in certain families. This study will determine which genes may be involved in preeclampsia. Women who have had preeclampsia (called the index woman) may be eligible for this study. They will be recruited through the Preeclampsia Foundation. In addition, the following relatives of the index woman may be enrolled: The child from the preeclampsic pregnancy The index woman's biological parents The index woman's siblings who have given birth or fathered a child and their family members The study will exclude any index women or family members who have had chronic hypertension, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, or whose pregnancy that involved preeclampsia was a multiple fetus pregnancy or that was conceived through use of fertility technology. All women participants fill out a questionnaire to collect demographic data (e.g., age, race, marital status, etc.) and information on their medical and reproductive history, use of tobacco and medicines, and other factors that may be associated with preeclampsia syndrome. Women who have had preeclampsia or hypertension in pregnancy are asked to sign a medical record release form for study investigators to obtain a copy of the medical record for that pregnancy. All male and female participants provide a mouthwash rinse sample for extraction of DNA for gene studies. For babies too young to rinse with mouthwash, a soft brush is used to brush the inside of the mouth to collect cheek cells. Mouthwash samples are analyzed for genes that may be associated with preeclampsia.

This research project is studying the causes for low platelet levels in preterm infants. Platelets are a component of blood that helps with clotting. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the cause for low platelet levels is the same in infants who are born to mothers with preeclampsia and infants who are small for gestational age.

Short description of the primary purpose of the protocol intended for the lay public. Include brief statement of study hypothesis Pre-eclampsia (toxemia of pregnancy) is the most cause of death among pregnant women in North America. It also causes many complications for fetuses (unborn children) and neonates (newborn children). Pre-eclampsia is defined by high blood pressure (hypertension), the loss of protein into the urine (proteinuria), and disorders of many body systems, including the blood clotting (coagulation) and inflammation. What is needed is a compound that will safely prolong pregnancies, to give babies more time to grow inside their mothers, and will help the recovery in those mothers after delivery. We are going to investigate a compound (recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC)) that has the potential to modify disease activity in pre-eclampsia by reducing coagulation and inflammation disorders. rhAPC is effective in patients suffering from septic shock. We will test rhAPC in women who develop severe pre-eclampsia in two ways. First, in women with severe pre-eclampsia remote from term who are carrying small babies (intent: safely prolong their pregnancies). Second, in women who have had severe pre-eclampsia before their baby delivered (including women in the first group), or whose disease develops/worsens after delivery (intent: switch off the disease so dangerous complications do not arise). This study is a preliminary one to look for possible risks and benefits for these women. Only 40 women will be studied to provide initial evidence on which to base a larger international trial which is planned. We will study their pregnancy outcomes as well as markers of disease activity, to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which these women become unwell.