Early diagnosis of preeclampsia is very important, since it is a high-risk obstetric pathology. Some biomarkers of angiogenesis in pregnancy that play an important role in the development of placental diseases allow the identification of levels that warn of possible preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia: what it is
Preeclampsia is a medical complication of pregnancy that classically associated 3 components:
– Pregnancy-induced hypertension
– Loss of protein in the urine (Proteinuria)
– Edemas
It can affect up to 10% of pregnancies and is usually a complication of the second and third trimester.
Preeclampsia, a high-risk obstetric pathology.
Currently, and as stated by experts in Gynecology and Obstetrics, preeclampsia is included in what we call “placental ischemic disease”, which includes two other high-risk obstetric pathologies: intrauterine growth retardation and placental abruption.
Given the severity and high risk of these pathologies, diagnostic strategies are being designed to allow their early identification in order to establish corrective measures to reduce the obstetric risk rate.
Diagnosis of preeclampsia
Recently, biomarkers of angiogenesis in pregnancy have been discovered that play an important role in the development of placental ischemic disease. These include sFlt-1 and PIGF.
– sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1): It is a protein that deactivates factors that originate vascular growth. This protein increases its concentration in the final phase of pregnancy. In pregnant women who develop preeclampsia, the concentrations of this protein are increased.
– PIGF (placental growth factor): It is a key molecule in angiogenesis and its main source during pregnancy is the placenta. Its levels are increased during the first and second trimester and decrease at term.
In a patient with preeclampsia, sFlt-1 levels are higher and PIGF levels are lower than in normal pregnancy.
Automated methods to assess the sFlt-1/PIGF ratio are approved for clinical use. The use of this ratio assessment has been proposed for the follow-up of patients at risk of preeclampsia from week 24 of pregnancy. It allows establishing a risk of developing the disease and the controls to which patients should be submitted according to whether they are classified as low, intermediate or high risk.