NEW YORK (Reuters) — Urine testing for kidney cells can help detect preeclampsia, a potentially serious condition involving high blood pressure and fluid retention during pregnancy, according to findings published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Garovic, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined whether podocyturia, the term for the presence of certain kidney cells in the urine, can identify pregnant women with preeclampsia. Compared with healthy women, those with preeclampsia showed significantly greater podocyturia. Moreover, podocyturia was a better predictor of preeclampsia than any of the blood tests the researchers examined. Further studies are needed, however, to determine exactly why greater numbers of kidney cells are released into the urine of women with preeclampsia, the team notes. Democratic presidential hopefuls flashed their anti-war credentials Thursday night, robustly criticizing President Bush’s Iraq policy in an unusually early . read more

Technorati Tags: preeclampsia, podocyturia, cells, kidney, urine, women, pregnancy news