News Section | Women Health
Dietary supplement can cut risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women
A new study has found that taking a dietary supplement containing an amino acid and antioxidant vitamins can help pregnant women at high risk of pre-eclampsia to reduce the occurrence of the disease.
Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition where abnormally high blood pressure and other disturbances develop during pregnancy. It affects about 5 percent of all first-time pregnancies and is dangerous for both mother and child.
A deficiency in L-arginine, an amino acid that helps to maintain a healthy blood flow during pregnancy is believed to be behind the occurrence of the condition. But some experts also think that antioxidant vitamins can help protect against the condition.
So a team of researchers in Mexico and the United States set out to test the theory that a combination of L-arginine and antioxidants would prevent the development of pre-eclampsia in high-risk women.
The study took place at a hospital in Mexico City. Pregnant women at high risk of pre-eclampsia were randomly divided into three groups: 228 received daily food bars containing both L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins, 222 received bars containing only vitamins, and 222 received placebo bars (containing no L-arginine or vitamins).
The proportion of women developing pre-eclampsia was 30.2 percent in the placebo group, 22.5 percent in the vitamin only group, and 12.7 percent in the L-arginine plus vitamin group.
This means that women in the L-arginine plus vitamin group were significantly less likely to develop pre-eclampsia compared with the placebo and vitamins alone groups.
The team also found that L-arginine plus vitamins significantly reduced the risk of premature birth compared with placebo.
“This relatively simple and low cost intervention may have value in reducing the risk of pre-eclampsia and associated preterm birth,” concluded the authors.
Disclaimer: Bioscholar is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The articles are based on peer reviewed research, and discoveries/products mentioned in the articles may not be approved by the regulatory bodies.- Women who are pregnant over summer have healthier babies
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