A SERVICE OF THE PREECLAMPSIA FOUNDATION
Your perspective is important to us!
Several preeclampsia researchers are collaborating with rEVO Biologics, a company developing a treatment for preeclampsia, to better understand the patient's journey through diagnosis, management, treatment, and delivery -- not necessarily in that order! Analyzing thousands of real-world patient experiences will help us to develop better education tools and processes, and to advocate to healthcare providers for improved patient engagement.

Only those who have finished their first enrollment questionnaires will be invited to complete this survey. If you haven't finished your questionnaire, simply log-in to the Registry at www.preeclampsiaregistry.org and select "Finish a Questionnaire that I Started" from your MyRegistry page.
Wishing you a happy New Year!
The Preeclampsia Registry had an amazing 2015 and we're so glad you could be a part of it!

Here's an overview of what we've accomplished together:
  • 2,237 participants enrolled in the Registry 
  • 516 participants and their family members enrolled in the Registry's Biobank
  • 3 research studies underway using information from the Registry
  • 4 additional research studies in-the-works

Tell us about your 2015!  

Have you had any new diagnoses or taken any tests to monitor your health? Have you had any new pregnancies? Do you have updates regarding your child's health?  Whether the answer is "yes" or "no", we want to hear from you!    
You asked, we're answering
Is the MTHFR gene associated with preeclampsia?
The Preeclampsia Registry is committed to building a partnership between our participants and researchers. With this goal in mind, we're asking you to share your questions and research ideas with us -- select "Submit a Research Idea" on your My Registry page. We share these questions and ideas with members of our Scientific Advisory Council and Medical Advisory Board. Keep your ideas coming and we'll follow up either directly or through an article such as this.Special thanks to Dr. James Roberts, Co-chair of The Preeclampsia Registry's Scientific Advisory Council and member of the Preeclampsia Foundation's Medical Advisory Board, for his editorial assistance with this article about the MTHFR gene and its association with preeclampsia.

Several genes in our bodies have been linked -- to varying degrees -- to our chance of developing preeclampsia. A gene is a region of your DNA that holds the instruction manual for making proteins that are the building blocks of most of life's functions. The MTHFR gene provides the instructions to make an enzyme called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (try saying that fast!). This enzyme helps to process amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins.
 
Studies have shown that variations, or subtle differences, in the MTHFR gene are associated with increased risk for many common conditions including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia, among several others. MTHFR helps metabolize folic acid that leads to the breakdown of an amino acid called homocysteine. Homocysteine is increased in heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia. One very common variant of the MTHFR gene makes a "weak enzyme" that doesn't work as well as it should. It's thought that the weak enzyme leads to an increase in homocysteine, which explains why this gene variant is associated with cardiovascular disease and preeclampsia.

Click on the button below for frequently asked questions about the MTHFR gene.
Stat spotlight
Magnesium Sulfate for prevention of seizures
Did you know that 75% of you reported that you were treated with Magnesium Sulfate during a pregnancy that was affected by preeclampsia? You can check out statistics just like this by logging in to the Registry and selecting "How Did Others Respond" from your My Registry page.
Walk for the cause close to your heart
Registry plays key role in long-term cardiovascular follow up
As part of the Global Pregnancy CoLaboratory (CoLab) network, The Preeclampsia Registry was recognized as an important resource in an article called Pregnancy and Long-Term Maternal Cardiovascular Health: Progress Through Harmonization of Research Cohorts and Biobanks. Now available online, this article was published by Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal, and co-authored by the Preeclampsia Foundation's Executive Director Eleni Tsigas.  
Ongoing research studies
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