Active clinical trials for "Pre-Eclampsia"

The investigators propose a randomized controlled unblinded trial to evaluate rates of optimal blood pressure control between Nifedipine 60mg XL once daily vs. Nifedipine 30mg XL twice daily in patients admitted for expectant management with pre-eclampsia with severe features. Patients will be approached for consent when they are placed on 30mg of Nifedipine daily by their primary provider and will be enrolled in the study when the primary provider has made the decision to increase the patient's daily dose of Nifedipine XL from 30mg to 60mg.

Background and project rationale: Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy, affecting 6-8% of all pregnancies and constitutes a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Preeclampsia is liable to endanger the lives of both the gravida and the fetus, particularly if treatment is initiated inappropriately or in an untimely fashion. Diagnosis of preeclampsia is dependent on the finding of proteinuria, determined as being over 300mg of protein in a 24 hours urine sample. However, urine collection spanning 24 hours sometimes constitutes a "bottleneck", extending the time to diagnosis of preeclampsia. Additionally, the collection of urine for 24 hours entails a degree of discomfort, requiring that the woman be in proximity to for collection vessel, and increases the length of her hospital admission. The use of an abbreviated test may permit diagnosis and treatment in a more timely fashion. Similarly, the ability to exclude the diagnosis more rapidly could reduce length of hospital stay and consumption of the health system's limited resources. Further, a shorter test may reduce the discomfort associated with the 24-hour test and thus increase compliance. Previous research has suggested that briefer tests correlate with the traditional 24 hour urine collection, however these studies were based on small study populations. Research Objective: To validate a brief and rapid test for the diagnosis of urinary protein excretion. To assess whether, in women with suspected preeclampsia, a difference exists between protein excretion during the daytime and at night. Methods: Urine collection will be performed on pregnant women admitted for investigation of suspected preeclampsia, with volumes recorded and samples taken at 6, 12 and 24 hour intervals for assessment of urinary protein content. As such, a comparison will be made between the protein excretion after 6 and 12 hours with that over a full 24 hour period; in addition, comparison will be made between daytime and nighttime urinary protein excretion. The results will allow for assessment of whether a shorter test can substitute the full 24 hour collection in the diagnosis of preeclampsia; results of women who are shown to not suffer from preeclampsia will be used to assess whether a short test can rule out the disease. Additionally a urine sample for protein/creatinine ratio will be examined and correlated with results of the different collection periods.

Pregnancy elicits adaptive changes in uteroplacental blood flow, which are altered at high altitude and may contribute to the observed 3-fold increase in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PreE). The investigators propose to collect myometrial, cord blood, and placental tissue samples from women at high altitude (Summit County) and low altitude (Denver) in Colorado in order to determine if residence at altitude during pregnancy changes the vasoreactivity of myometrial arteries (MA). If altered MA vasoreactivity is found, further studies may be able to link these changes to the increased rates of PreE and IUGR at altitude and contribute to the understanding of these two disorders.

Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are serious and frequent pathologies, specific to pregnancy. They represent 70 000 new cases a year, or 9% of pregnancies and cause 50,000 premature births per year in France. The consequences in terms of morbidity and perinatal morbidity and the medical and economic costs make it an issue public health. Pre-eclampsia associates maternal hypertension with dysfunction kidney. There is no cure for pre-eclampsia or IUGR vascular during pregnancy. These pathologies invariably evolve towards a maternal and / or fetal aggravation sometimes very fast. Primary prevention and secondary education and screening for these pathologies are still insufficient. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of these placental vascular pathologies is necessary for the development of supported medical, obstetric and pediatric that will improve the state of health maternal and neonatal

Preeclampsia (PE) is a major obstetric complication with short- and long-term consequences for the mother and the fetus. Early screening tools to reduce its mortality and morbidity, as well as to prevent the life-threatening consequences are needed. Thus, the detection of women at risk of suffering PE is key to apply preventive and treatment strategies. Recently, the maternal contribution to PE based on defective decidualization has been evidenced and new technical approaches developed to detect circulating biomolecules in blood such as RNA fragments. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic precision of the molecular profile from the maternal blood analysed for the early screening of early onset preeclampsia (EOPE).

Changes in the optic nerve sheath diameter detected by ultrasound are considered an important manifestation of increased intracranial pressure . The normal optic nerve sheath diameter measures up to 5.0 mm and an average optic nerve sheath diameter more than 5 mm is considered abnormal and elevated intracranial pressure should be suspected.Cerebral edema have been demonstrated in 71% to 100% of magnetic resonance imaging in preeclamptic patients and an increase in optic nerve sheath diameter has been described in preeclamptic females compared to healthy pregnant females Therefore, Increased optic nerve sheath diameter can indirectly reflect the state of intracranial edema that could be a part of generalized edema of preeclampsia and it could be a possible marker of generalized tissue edema and fluid overload in these patients.

A large number of studies on MVs from syncytiotrophoblasts support the hypothesis of their involvement in pre-eclampsia, via their multiple effects, among others as pro-coagulant, immuno-stimulatory and anti-angiogenic factors. The main objective is to compare the total concentration of the main populations of MVs in the maternal blood of a population of pre-eclamptic patients to those of a population of non-pre-eclamptic patients.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States, and women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy have a 2-fold higher risk for cardiovascular disease later in life compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies. This research investigates a patient-centered intervention during the postpartum period to promote engagement in cardiovascular preventive care.

The goal of this randomized clinical trial study is to test the potential benefits of eHealth-assisted follow-up after pregnancy complications that confer and increased risk for premature cardiovascular (CV) disease. The overarching aim is to improve short- and long-term CV health in women following pregnancy complications associated with increased risk of CV disease (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes). The investigators will develop and test a novel, personalized and user co-designed digital eHealth companion ("app") and test the app in a clinical randomized control trial. The group randomized to app use will get access to the app prior to delivery or within the first weeks postpartum, whereas the control group will not get access to the app, but receive ordinary follow-up. Both groups are invited to a comprehensive cardiovascular follow-up 14-18 months post delivery. The primary objective is to assess whether the rate of 1-year postpartum follow-up at the general practitioner's is increased with MumCare app access. Secondary objectives are to assess: expectations of (and satisfaction with) postpartum eHealth-assisted technologies, if health perception, sense of empowerment, quality of life, modifiable risk factors for CV disease (including hypertension, dyslipidemia, blood sugar control, smoking, weight), CV findings (including non-invasive hemodynamics) and biomarkers are affected by MumCare app use.

The primary outcome will be the effect of rosuvastatin on the resolution of biochemical features associated with severe PE (↑CRP and IL6). .