Pre-eclampsia is high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy, usually after 20 weeks, often with protein in the urine or signs of organ stress. It affects about 5-8% of pregnancies in the U.S. and can progress to serious complications. Treatment currently means close monitoring and delivery when the risks of continuing pregnancy outweigh the benefits.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing whether aspirin or other drugs started early in pregnancy can prevent pre-eclampsia in high-risk women, ways to predict who will develop it through blood tests or imaging, and treatments that might extend pregnancy safely when pre-eclampsia appears preterm. Researchers are also studying the biology behind why blood vessels in the placenta don't develop normally.
Early prediction tests
Blood tests measuring placental proteins, combined with blood pressure and ultrasound findings in the first trimester, may identify women at high risk months before symptoms appear. This could allow earlier prevention strategies.
Low-dose aspirin timing
Studies are refining when to start aspirin in high-risk pregnancies and whether the time of day matters. Evidence suggests starting before 16 weeks and taking it at bedtime may work better than current standard advice.
Angiogenic factor therapies
Drugs that target the imbalance in blood vessel growth factors are being tested to see if they can treat pre-eclampsia after it develops. The goal is to safely extend pregnancy when delivery would mean extreme prematurity.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on risk factors like prior pre-eclampsia, chronic hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, first pregnancy, or carrying multiples, and on how far along the pregnancy is.
What types of trials are currently open
- Prevention trials — Testing aspirin, calcium, or other supplements started early in pregnancy to prevent pre-eclampsia in women at higher risk.
- Prediction studies — Studies developing or validating blood tests, ultrasound measurements, and risk calculators to identify who will develop pre-eclampsia.
- Treatment trials — Testing medications given after pre-eclampsia develops to control blood pressure, reduce seizure risk, or allow safer pregnancy extension.
- Delivery timing studies — Comparing outcomes when delivery happens at different gestational ages after pre-eclampsia is diagnosed.
- Long-term follow-up studies — Tracking women after pre-eclampsia to understand later cardiovascular disease risk and whether interventions reduce it.
Recently added Pre-eclampsia trials
Donate a blood sample to help predict serious pregnancy complications
Preeclampsia is a serious high blood pressure condition that can develop during pregnancy. It is one of the leading causes of death and illness for mothers and babies in Africa. Doctors find it hard to tell which women with high blood pressure in pregnancy will go on to become seriously ill, because the tests available today are not accurate enough and are often not available in local clinics. Two proteins in the blood, called sFlt-1 and PlGF, may help predict who is at risk. The balance between them (the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio) has been useful in other parts of the world, but it has not been properly tested in African women. New rapid tests can measure these proteins at the clinic in minutes, using a small blood or urine sample, without a large laboratory. This study will look at how well these tests work in African women. Researchers will do two things. First, they will work out the result levels that best predict whether a woman will or will not develop severe preeclampsia in the following weeks, using a well-established laboratory test as the standard for comparison. Second, they will check how closely the rapid clinic tests match that laboratory standard. The study will also look at what these tests cost and whether using them could save money for families and health services. The study will include about 1,106 pregnant women at large maternity hospitals in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Tanzania. Women may join if they are between 23 and 37 weeks pregnant with one baby and their care team suspects preeclampsia, for example because of raised blood pressure, protein in the urine, or symptoms such as headache, swelling or vision changes. Taking part does not change a woman's medical care in any way. Women will attend their usual pregnancy visits, plus study visits at 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks, at delivery, and about 4 weeks after birth. At these visits the study team will record health information and collect blood and urine samples. About 15 ml of blood (around one tablespoon) is collected at each visit. The test results are not used to make any decisions about a woman's treatment. Doctors and nurses caring for her will not see them, and neither will she. All treatment decisions stay with her own healthcare team. Routine tests such as blood counts and liver tests are shared with her care team as usual. The results of this study may help clinics in Africa spot dangerous preeclampsia earlier, so mothers and babies can be treated in time.
Receive an ultrasound scan to measure fluid status in preeclampsia
This study aims to assess and analyze volume status in preeclamptic patients and compare these parameters with those of normotensive pregnant ones based on the change in internal jugular vein ultrasound-based indices.
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