LDL-apheresis to decrease sFlt-1 during early severe preeclampsia: Report of two cases from a discontinued phase II trial
Abstract
Objective: Severe preeclampsia may require the delivery of the placenta to avoid life-threatening complications for the mother. Before 26 weeks of gestation, this often results in perinatal death. A decrease in soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), an anti-angiogenic factor central to the pathophysiology of the maternal syndrome, has been reported after LDL- apheresis. The present study tested whether LDL-apheresis could be used to allow women with early and severe preeclampsia to reach a gestational age where the baby had a viable chance of survival.
Study Design: A phase II prospective study. Adult women were included if they had very early (<26 weeks of gestation) preeclampsia without severe (<5th percentile) intra-uterine growth retardation. Treatment consisted of two weekly sessions (90 min each) of LDL-apheresis of whole blood. The primary endpoint was the status of the baby (dead or living) at 6 months post-delivery. Sample size and stopping rules were calculated assuming a desired success rate of at least 90%.
Results: The study was interrupted for safety reasons after the inclusion of two patients: both developed secondary uncontrolled hypertension and blurred vision during the first week of treatment. The first neonate, born at 25 + 3 weeks of gestation, died of sepsis at day 5; the second, born at 26 + 2 weeks of gestation, is still alive and well. In these two patients, the impact of apheresis sessions on sFlt1 concentrations was inconsistent.
Conclusion: LDL-apheresis did not result in the prolongation of pregnancy in this phase II trial. Further studies will be needed to delineate the appropriate contours of this therapeutic strategy.
Domains
Gynecology and obstetrics| Origin | Files produced by the author(s) |
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