Saliva testing kit that can help stop pre-eclampsia
A SIMPLE home saliva test will tell pregnant women whether they might have a potentially fatal complication.
On sale by next summer, it is hoped the test will save lives by giving earlier warnings of preeclampsia than existing tests. One of the most common causes of premature birth in the UK, pre- eclampsia is a huge drain on NHS resources, affecting 70,000 British women and claiming the lives of up to six women and 1,000 babies a year.
Mothers-to-be undergo regular checks for the condition at antenatal clinics but some cases are caught too late.
The new test, which is the first in the world to use saliva to identify pre- eclampsia, can spot problems as early as 20 weeks into pregnancy.
Women deemed to be at risk could be given drugs to delay their progression to full-blown pre-eclampsia, in which patients have dangerously high blood pressure, protein in the urine, swollen feet, headaches and nausea. They can also suffer kidney failure, fits and strokes.
The Salurate test should be used weekly from halfway through pregnancy and works by measuring levels of uric acid in the saliva. Uric acid is naturally made in the body but, for reasons that are unknown, levels rise in saliva in women at risk of pre-eclampsia.
The gadget looks like a folding toothbrush with a foam tip at one end and a piece of paper sensitive to uric acid at the other.
To test her levels, a woman places her tongue on the foam tip and folds the brush in two, so the foam touches the paper, which then changes colour.
Her doctor will then be notified of any unexpected rises in uric acid levels via a phone app.
In a trial involving 900 expect- ant mothers, the device spotted 30 out of the 34 women who went on to develop pre-eclampsia.
In contrast, the blood pressure and urine tests used by the NHS only picked up seven cases.
The kit won the IET Innovation Award for healthcare technology in 2015. Its makers, Hampshire-based Morgan Innovation and Technology, hope it will be used by the NHS, as well as sold on the high street.
The price is yet to be fixed but it is expected to be around £100 per pregnancy. Morgan’s CEO Nigel Clarke said: ‘Pregnancy services in the UK are absolutely swamped and we hope this will alleviate some of the pressure.’
Professor Andrew Shennan, chairman of charity Action on Pre-eclampsia, said many mothers-to-be would welcome a home test. He added: ‘Women still die from pre- eclampsia because it has been missed and these deaths are largely avoidable.’
However, the professor, who researches pre- eclampsia at King’s College London, said new tests would face competition from blood pressure monitors that women can already use at home.
‘These deaths are avoidable’