Gynuity Receives Grant to Develop a Low-Cost Test for Early Diagnosis of Pre-eclampsia

Gynuity Health Projects has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of the Saving Lives at Birth initiative, to develop a low-cost paper-based urine test for early detection of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive condition that can occur during pregnancy and the post-partum period. Timely diagnosis is critical as pre-eclampsia can be fatal to both mother and baby if left untreated. In low-resource settings, there is a high incidence of morbidity and mortality due to delays in, or lack of, diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Having discovered that pre-eclampsia is characterized by derangements in protein structure (similar to Alzheimer’s disease), the study team now seeks to create a test that could quantify the altered proteins in pregnant women’s urine using Congo red dye, a dye used for identifying Alzheimer plaques. Gynuity will be collaborating with The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Yale University School of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and University of Washington, Seattle.