Vitamin D Supplementation May Aid in Prevention and Managment of Preeclampsia: Study

A new study published in the journal of Life Sciences found that vitamin D supplementation may help prevent or treat preeclampsia (PE) by supporting placental function, angiogenic balance, and blood pressure regulation.

According to the most recent classification, hypertensive conditions during pregnancy can be divided into three categories: (1) chronic hypertension detected prior to pregnancy or around 20 weeks of gestation, (2) gestational hypertension detected at or after 20 weeks, or (3) preeclampsia, which is defined as gestational hypertension with proteinuria or roughly as gestational hypertension with proteinuria or end-organ dysfunctions in addition to preeclampsia. PE is complicated.

Several pregnancy issues, including poor placental development, are associated with vitamin D deficiency. It has been demonstrated that vitamin D improves prenatal development and reduces the risk of PE. This work investigates the function of vitamin D in placental ischemia and its regulatory effects in the Nitro L-arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) animal model of PE in order to get a better understanding of the pathophysiological processes behind the disorder and the therapeutic options utilized to control it.

30 male rats and 50 female rats in the estrous stage were mated. 3 equal groups of 30 pregnant female rats were created: the control group, the Preeclampsia group (PE), the Vit. D group from day seven, and the L-NAME induction group from day ten till the conclusion of the pregnancy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), morphometric analysis, histological structure and immunohistochemistry expression of VEGF and Ki67, mean arterial Bp, proteinuria, and oxidative stress indicators were evaluated.

The study's findings indicated that vitamin D administration may decrease oxidative stress, lower blood pressure, and restore angiogenic equilibrium via interacting with Ki67 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This study concludes for the first time that vitamin D administration may help prevent or treat PE by directly affecting blood pressure control, angiogenic hemostasis, and placental function recovery.

Source:

Eissa, H., Abdelsalam, E. M., Mokbel, S. A., Elhadedy, N. H., Khalil, R. M., AbdElfattah, A. A. M., Abdel Ghaffar, D. M., El Nashar, E. M., Hassan, A. H., Al-Zahrani, N. S., Aldahhan, R. A., & Yassin, N. A. E. (2025). Vitamin D supplementation as a prophylactic therapy in the management of pre-eclampsia: Focus on VEGF, Ki67, oxidative stress markers in correlation to placental ultra structure. Life Sciences, 123605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2025.123605