What happens biologically during Pre-E

[misscoleyp]

Can this thread get stickied and updated with any updates from current research? This thread would be great for those wanting a deeper understanding.

[lisainnj]

I've been wondering, if the placenta is hypoxic, would boosting the mother's oxygen level help? Maybe the placenta could settle down some and stop producing so much s-Flt1? At least in some cases?

[ozierja]

I think maybe a s-Flt1 inhibitor would be great thing to try to produce. There might be more adverse effects with too much oxygen. One of the premises behind retinopathy of prematurity research is that ROP develops because of the varying levels of oxygen, not just the hypoxic state. So when the sats of the preemie go down, the O2 gets turned up and when the sats are high, the O2 gets lowered. What ends up happening is that once the preemie is off O2 then the retinal vessels that grow but they are the leaky ones and not properly formed.

[lisainnj]

I would settle for my baby being blind and alive, sigh...

But researchers seem to be looking at hypoxia-reoxygenation as a cause of preeclampsia - apparently more damaging than simple hypoxia. And carbon monoxide (smokers have less risk) seems to limit the cellular damage caused by hypoxia-reoxygenation.

So giving the mother oxygen unless done very very gradually might be a bad idea.

[ozierja]

I really wish there was more research out there about this condition and treatments for it. Being around research in my job I can't understand why there is so much more research on diseases that are less common and certainly less damaging (at least potentially). I work at a major medical center/university in the top 20 of US research funding and not one study done here is for PE or PIH or HELLP.

[ambersjourney]

Wow- this says it all! Great, detailed information!!

[smb]

this question is pretty obvious - can they scan the placenta to see if it has implanted properly? Forewarned is forearmed as they say

[jacinta]

Hey, not so obvious! I asked the same thing of my MFM and the answer I got is that the spiral arteries are too small and numerous to appear on an ultrasound. Caryn is referring to them in her post above. The only way the doctor told me she would be able to examine them is on an autopsy of the placenta, obviously postpartum.

[chippery]

First of all, THANK YOU for actually explaining PE, it's the best simplified description I've seen yet.

I was trying to research my own two pregnancies and fell into this site...luckily. :)

The first pregnancy, was finally a success after finding out my thyroid was off. Soon after starting and adjusting my dose, I got pregnant. I bled the entire first trimester. It stopped right around the 13 week mark. All was fine until around 26 weeks, when my BP started to rise - quickly. I was on two different BP medications, and it was still creeping up to 160/100+ on a daily basis. Protien in the urin was around 1 until the very end when it hit 3+. They did a c-section at 37 weeks. My son came out at 5 pounds 6 ounces(5 percentile). 18 1/2 inches (25 percentile). His blood sugar was low, had to go on oxygen and was in the incubator (fishtank as the family called it) for approx. 4 days. He's now 10 months old. His weight has increased to the 10th percentile, 17 pounds and his height is now average. :)

I found out I was pegnant again 4 months after having the last one. This scared the daylights out of me, after everything we'd just been through. Sure enough - at the confirmation appointment with my regular doctor, my blood pressure was 160/?. I've always had normal BP my entire life. He immediatly put me on pressure meds. I'm now 25 weeks and am starting to get the typical BP headaches. The pressure isn't as high now, being in the second trimester, but w/ the meds it's starting to reach 141/95.

However there was no bleeding w/ this one in the first trimester. So I'm trying to see what the chances of the PE are, if I'm just having the BP signs this time. My doctors already told me to expect it - and be happy if it passes me by. I just wish this wasn't such a mystery condition.

[caryn]

Katie, welcome to the forums!

If you develop hypertension prior to twenty weeks gestation, they'll usually call that unmasked chronic hypertension. The idea is that the stress of pregnancy on your body reveals your genetic tendency to become a chronic. Chronic hypertensives have a 25% chance of developing superimposed preeclampsia in any given pregnancy.

However, you developed symptoms pretty early in your pregnancy last time, and that probably makes your risk closer to 40-60%. Here's a link to our Experts talking about recurrence rates.

Are you being seen by a high-risk team?