20 April, 2011
Heart Drugs Could Cut Blood Pressure Risks in Pregnancy
Medical Research Council (MRC) funded scientists from four UK universities will test whether heart disease drugs can be used to treat pre-eclampsia, a potentially fatal condition which affects up to eight per cent of pregnant women in the UK.
Pre-eclampsia can occur in pregnant women and is thought to be caused by a problem with the development of the placenta (the organ that links the baby’s blood supply to the mother’s). It results in high blood pressure, inflammation of the lining of blood vessels and can also cause kidney, liver and brain damage in the mother, as well as harm to the baby. It is responsible for around four million premature births worldwide each year. In extreme cases, when unmanaged, it can also lead to convulsions and death of the mother.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have found that statins, which are prescribed to lower people’s risk of heart disease, could also help decrease amounts of two proteins linked to pre-eclampsia. To test this in the population, the MRC is funding the pioneering StAmP (statins to ameliorate early onset pre-eclampsia) trial.
The trial, which is the world’s first trial on statins in pregnancy, will involve 128 pregnant women in the UK diagnosed with very early-onset pre-eclampsia, which occurs in women who are less than 32 weeks pregnant. This is the most severe form of the condition and the only treatment is to deliver babies prematurely.
Professor Max Parmar, Director of the Medical Research Council's Clinical Trials Unit, said:
“The MRC supports trials which drive the translation of discoveries made in the lab into real benefits for public health. The design of the StAmP study means that it should provide important evidence on whether statins, which are already widely used in other conditions, could be exploited even further. Pre-eclampsia is a major problem area in women's health, so it would be a key step forward if this trial provides a positive outcome.”
Professor Asif Ahmed, of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science, said:
“This is the first stage, but we are confident that taking a scientific approach to find a way to alleviate pre-eclampsia would enable us to prolong affected pregnancies, improving the outcome for both the baby and the expectant mother. If successful this could help provide cheap, widely available therapy against pre-eclampsia which could help reduce maternal and infant deaths across the world.”
The trial is being led by the University of Edinburgh and involves clinicians from the University of Birmingham, University College London Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London
The University of Edinburgh was recently awarded a £1m grant by the Medical Research Council to establish the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health. The centre grant comes in addition to £12m of research grants recently awarded by the MRC to reproductive health scientists in Edinburgh. The centre will conduct further research into conditions that affect the reproductive ability and health of both men and women.
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