A study found that the presence of the hormone, adrenomedullin, is crucial for a mom to avoid getting preeclampsia. The hormone, emitted by the developing fetus into the placenta, allows the mother’s blood vessels to dilate so that the increased blood flow can reach the fetus. Without adrenomedullin, the vessels in the placenta can not accommodate the extra blood volume and can be life threatening to the mother and the baby.
Roughly 1 in 15 women suffer from preeclampsia and the only cure is delivery. Some symptoms include elevated blood pressure, edema, and protein found in the urine. Unfortunately, there is not any way to determine which women will suffer from the condition, but hopefully with this new knowledge about adrenomedullin, we may be able to determine which women have a predisposition for preeclampsia in the future.
“By identifying the key role of adrenomedullin, the research could pave the way to new methods for detecting and preventing preeclampsia. For example, adrenomedullin levels could potentially be used as a biomarker, or early indicator, to identify which patients might be predisposed to the condition.” (source)
