In a Nature Medicine study, 16 women with early preeclampsia received a filter treatment that reduced Flt-1 protein levels by 17% and extended pregnancies by a median of 10 days.
Some pregnancies lasted up to 19 extra days, potentially reducing complications of premature birth. Side effects included chest discomfort and headaches, but no major harms were observed in mothers or fetuses.
Preeclampsia affects 3–8% of pregnancies worldwide and lacks effective treatments. Larger, controlled trials are needed to confirm safety and effectiveness, as current results are based on a small, uncontrolled study.
Could future therapies fix the placental defect, making blood-filtering treatments like this obsolete?
What are the long-term health outcomes for children born after this novel preeclampsia treatment?
Will corporate patents on sFlt-1 therapies accelerate or block patient access to the best possible treatment?
What are the unknown risks of removing a key signaling protein from the body during pregnancy?
Since the trial was uncontrolled, could intensive hospital care, not the treatment, have extended these pregnancies?
How can this complex apheresis therapy be made affordable for regions where preeclampsia is most fatal?