Read up on our latest news

Preeclampsia is a potentially serious problem that usually surfaces late in pregnancy, posing an immediate risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and death as well a later danger of stroke for the mother. New research published Wednesday in Nature shows how RNA molecules sequenced from a single blood sample could predict preeclampsia months before symptoms appear, holding promise for detecting and treating this and other pregnancy complications before they cause harm.

“We see very unique RNA profiles that are associated with the development of preterm birth months ahead of time. If we’re actually able to say, I not only can identify who is at risk, I can identify the biology that makes you at risk, it just opens up this whole new world for pregnancy health and for moms.”

After being neglected for many years, adverse pregnancy outcomes such as pre-eclampsia and preterm birth are now the focus of a small group of researchers and companies that are aiming to fill a much-needed gap in the clinical testing market.

“Early detection of preterm birth and identification of distinct pathways driving it is a fantastic advance. This new knowledge has real potential to improve the application of existing interventions and aid the development of new therapies for preterm birth that directly target its cause.”

Cell-free RNA transcripts in maternal blood can be analysed to monitor the progression of pregnancy and to predict a potentially harmful pregnancy-specific condition called pre‑eclampsia.

Maneesh Jain, CEO and co-founder of Mirvie, a proprietary RNA platform that uses blood samples to predict pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, sits down with Contemporary OB/GYN to discuss the potential of the test.

“It’s often in the first trimester that a lot of the onset of the condition happens biologically,” although symptoms show up late in pregnancy, said Maneesh Jain, Mirvie’s CEO. Detecting preeclampsia after symptoms arise “leaves you very little time to address the challenge. And it’s mostly crisis management.”

Researchers predicted preeclampsia in 75% of cases and preterm birth at nearly the same rate by analyzing maternal, fetal and placental RNA circulating in the mother’s blood during pregnancy, according to a study published in Nature.

The new research was conducted by a global collaborative involving experts at King’s College London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and US biotechnology firm Mirvie.

By comparing the cell-free RNA profiles of pregnant women with and without preeclampsia, the Mirvie-led team developed a model to predict who might develop the condition. The researchers found the model could identify three-quarters of women who would later develop preeclampsia early in their pregnancies.