In pregnant women with sickle cell disease , the risk of developing early-onset preeclampsia can be determined by measuring levels of a protein associated with placental function and development. These findings provide insight that may help clinicians to anticipate and mitigate adverse pregnancy outcomes and were published in the journal Blood Advances.

“Patients with sickle cell disease are at high risk for developing preeclampsia, but the challenge is that these patients produce placental growth factor even when they aren’t pregnant,” explained the lead study author, Kinga Malinowski, MD, MSc, who initiated the work as co-director of the Hematology in Pregnancy Program at Mount Sinai Hospital and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, both in Canada.

“This has raised t

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