Preeclampsia is one of the most common causes of serious complications during pregnancy worldwide. The condition is usually accompanied by severely elevated blood pressure and jeopardises the health of both the mother and the unborn child. Until now, doctors often had only one option: premature delivery with all the risks of a premature birth. An international research team has now successfully tested a new approach on patients for the first time. The disease-causing protein sFlt 1 was specifically removed from the blood using a special blood wash. A total of nine women were treated, including seven at Leipzig University Hospital. As a result, the concentration of the protein fell significantly, while the patients' state of health stabilised. In several cases, it was possible to prolong the pregnancy. The study is a milestone for obstetrics in Leipzig. For more than two decades, the team led by Prof Dr Holger Stephan has been one of the world's leading research groups in this field. The results now achieved are the outcome of around 15 years of development work, from the first laboratory tests to clinical application.
The road to standard therapy is still a long one. Larger studies must now show whether the approach will prove successful in the long term. However, for the first time, there is a realistic prospect of treating the causes of pre-eclampsia directly instead of merely controlling its consequences.
Press release from "Universitätsklinikum Leipzig" dated 11 May 2026