Advanced MRI for preeclampsia may help assess maternal and fetal health: Study

A recent research unveiled a novel approach to understanding the complexities of preeclampsia in pregnant women. The key findings of this study was published in the recent issue of Hypertension journal and offers a multiorgan perspective on the immediate impacts of preeclampsia on both the mother and the developing fetus.

Preeclampsia is characterized by high blood pressure and organ damage and poses serious risks to maternal and fetal health, but the precise implications of the condition remain poorly understood. And so, Megan Hall and team utilized advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques which helped in deeper analysis of the physiological changes which is associated with this condition.

This study recruited three cohorts of pregnant women; one group with preeclampsia, another with chronic hypertension or the other with no medical complications. Each participant underwent comprehensive MRI scans that focused on maternal cardiac health, placental function and fetal brain development.

The results of the cardiac MRI analysis data revealed distinct structural abnormalities in women with preeclampsia, including higher left ventricular mass and unique patterns of ventricular remodeling. Also, the placental and fetal brain imaging unveiled significant reductions in the tissue oxygenation (T2*) in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia that indicates compromised health of these vital organs.

Also, a subset of cases within the preeclampsia group showed T2* results consistent with the normal controls, despite expressing clinical symptoms of the condition. This observation highlighted the variability in disease presentation and underlines the importance of a comprehensive diagnostic approach.

The results illuminated the significance of these findings which present the first holistic assessment of the immediate implications of preeclampsia on maternal heart, placenta and fetal brain. Overall, these findings highlight the disease mechanism and holds promise for enhancing the risk stratification and management strategies.

The healthcare practitioners may be better equipped to identify at-risk individuals by elucidating the complex interplay between maternal and fetal physiology in preeclampsia and customize the interventions accordingly. Further research and validation is imperative for the advanced MRI techniques that could help pave the way for transformative advancements in maternal-fetal medicine.

Source:

Hall, M., de Marvao, A., Schweitzer, R., Cromb, D., Colford, K., Jandu, P., O’Regan, D. P., Ho, A., Price, A., Chappell, L. C., Rutherford, M. A., Story, L., Lamata, P., & Hutter, J. (2024). Preeclampsia Associated Differences in the Placenta, Fetal Brain, and Maternal Heart Can Be Demonstrated Antenatally: An Observational Cohort Study Using MRI. In Hypertension (Vol. 81, Issue 4, pp. 836–847). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1161/hypertensionaha.123.22442