Alere, Inc., has announced the results of a study which demonstrates that a simple blood test measuring placental growth factor (PlGF) can help to quantify risk in women when pre-eclampsia is first suspected. The level of PlGF in blood is an important marker for placental and fetal wellbeing as well as the placenta's ability to sustain the pregnancy.
This UK-based, multi-center study known as PELICAN used the Alere Triage PLGF test to measure PlGF levels in 625 women with suspected pre-eclampsia in their first clinic visit. In women presenting before 35 weeks gestation who were managed in accordance with standard clinical protocols, a high PlGF level was strongly correlated with low risk for required delivery in the next 14 days. In fact, 96% of women with a normal test result were correctly diagnosed as not at risk. Conversely, a low PlGF level accurately identified women who were at high risk for preterm delivery, and 94% of women with an abnormal test result went on to require early delivery.
Professor of Obstetric Medicine at the University of Oxford and PELICAN investigator Christopher Redman comments, “Pre-eclampsia is notoriously unpredictable. Reliable tests that can be used in the clinical setting, when pre-eclampsia is first suspected, would be a notable breakthrough in the management of this life-threatening condition. The PELICAN data have demonstrated that PlGF testing before 35 weeks enables physicians to categorize women into low and high risk for disease progression and to adjust clinical management appropriately.” Learn more about the Alere Triage PLGF test, with useful tabs.
