Simple blood test detects preeclampsia risk months before symptoms appear, new study shows
Reports and Proceedings
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Jun-2025 19:10 ET (29-Jun-2025 23:10 GMT/UTC)
Using a cell-free RNA (cfRNA) “liquid biopsy” of maternal plasma, researchers at the Carlos Simon Foundation and iPremom enrolled 9,586 pregnant women from 14 hospitals across Spain between September 2021 and June 2024. In a nested case-control analysis of 216 participants, they successfully predicted both early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia well before the onset of symptoms.
Even small drops in national income can significantly increase the risk of various forms of childhood malnutrition- not only undernutrition but also overweight and obesity, shows a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). The study, published in Lancet Global Health, identifies pregnancy and the first 1,000 days of life as especially vulnerable periods where targeted interventions can make a big difference.
A new study is the first to map changes to specific gut bacteria based on interactions between human microbes and insect-killing chemicals observed in the lab and an animal model. The analysis showed that over a dozen pesticides influence human gut bacteria growth patterns, affect how gut microorganisms process nutrients and camp out inside some bacteria. Experiments in mice showed that one gut bacteria species provides some protection against pesticide toxicity, hinting at the possibility for a probiotic approach to preventing some of their damaging health effects.