This is a study that dealt with the effectiveness of the early prediction of preeclampsia using a protein unique to the placenta conducted by Prof. Ron Gonen from Bnei Zion and the Technion, and Dr. Hamotal Meiri from the start-up company Diagnostic Technologies that developed the test kit
The British medical journal British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology publishes in its new issue, which is coming out these days, the results of a scientific study, conducted in Israel by a team of researchers led by Prof. Ron Gonen, from the Bnei Zion Medical Center and the Faculty of Medicine of the Technion and Dr. Hamotal Meiri from the start company App Diagnostic Technologies from Yokneam developed a kit for this test.
The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness in early prediction of preeclampsia using a protein in the woman's blood known as PP13. The protein is unique to the placenta and reaches the pregnant mother's blood. Preeclampsia is a serious complication that appears in about 5% of pregnancies, and manifests itself in a dangerous rise in blood pressure, increased excretion of protein in the urine, sometimes also in disorders of the liver, kidneys and coagulation system. Preeclampsia endangers the health of the mother and the fetus in a real way. The team of researchers examined over 1,200 pregnant women throughout the State of Israel for about two years.
For the women who took part in the study, the protein level in the blood was checked, in the second month of pregnancy (weeks 6-10) and again at weeks 16-20 and at weeks 24-28. The results of the study showed that low levels of PP13 protein in the blood in the second month of pregnancy identify about 80% of women who may develop preeclampsia in more advanced stages of pregnancy, that is, towards the end.
The mother is not aware that she is developing preeclampsia
The British journal reports that identifying women who are at high risk of developing preeclampsia is of great importance, because in the first stages of the disease, the woman giving birth is not at all aware that she is developing this serious complication. Identifying the women at the beginning of pregnancy will allow them to be referred to a high-risk pregnancy clinic, where more careful monitoring and additional tests will be carried out that will enable optimal treatment, which can reduce the risks and improve pregnancy outcomes. In addition, although to date no treatment has been found that can completely prevent the appearance of the disease, the risk of the disease can be significantly reduced by treatment with low-dose aspirin, calcium supplementation, folic acid and other measures.
The editor-in-chief of the journal, Prof. Philip Steer, noted the Israeli research as "Editor's Choice", the highest praise of the prestigious medical journal. Prof. Steer writes in the editorial that "the research data proves that the PP13 test is of significant importance in the early prediction of preeclampsia, since the test allows the identification of 80% of the women in whom the complication will appear."
About preeclampsia in Israel
Preeclampsia is a disease that appears in about 5,000 pregnancies in Israel every year and is characterized by increased blood pressure, increased excretion of protein in the urine and severe edema. The disease also endangers the fetus and may cause it irreversible damage and even death. Among some women there may also be damage to other organs and systems, such as the liver, kidneys, eyes, brain as well as the blood clotting system. In some cases, the disease forces the doctors to deliver prematurely, which causes a premature birth that is exposed to many risks.
Dr. Hamotal Meiri, neuro-biology expert and CEO of Diagnostic Technologies, a start-up company from Yokneam that developed a kit to identify the protein, explained following the publication of the research results that: "Unfortunately, the extent of the problem is not sufficiently known to the general public and many women are not aware of the real danger . In Israel it is about 5,000 women who give birth suffering from preeclampsia every year, which today thanks to the innovative development there is a higher chance of preventing its outbreak with the help of medical treatment and supervision. The disease results from poor implantation of the placenta in the uterine wall and a lack of blood supply to the placenta and subsequently to the fetus. It is important to know that preeclampsia is a disease that has many environmental and behavioral factors, including anorexia, exposure to air pollution and pregnancy at a young or late age. The best way to develop prevention and cure is through an early detection test. The earlier the pregnancy is discovered, the more appropriate medical support, the use of nutritional supplements or preventive drug treatment can be provided to the extent the doctor deems appropriate."
The test was recently approved by the Ministry of Health and Diagnostic Technologies is already in negotiations with the health insurance funds, in order to include the test in the expanded basket of pregnancy tests of the supplementary insurances.
One response
I don't want to say anything bad about the research, but nevertheless it is desirable that the editor of a respected scientific journal expresses himself more precisely.
When using any prediction method, two types of errors should be considered:
A type one error where the hypothesis is rejected even though it is true and a type two error where the hypothesis is accepted even though it is false.
The quality of the forecasting method is measured by minimizing the probability of each type of error.
When Professor Steer says that the test detects 80% of the women who are expected to get preeclampsia, he is only talking about the probability of a type 20 error (which in this case is XNUMX%).
This means nothing because without any research it is very easy to propose a method where the probability of a type 0 error is XNUMX%. All that needs to be done for this is to claim that all the women being tested are likely to get sick and thus we can be sure that we will never say about a woman who is expected to get a disease, that she is not likely to get it.
This prediction would, of course, be worthless.