DAPHNE Study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Developing MRI sequences to Assess maternal cardiac and Placental function in women with HyperteNsion in prEgnancy (DAPHNE)

• IRAS ID

  311595

• Contact name

  Kate Duhig

• Contact email

  kate.duhig@manchester.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Manchester

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  What is the aim of this study?
  To develop new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that can help improve the assessment of heart and placental function in pregnant women with high blood pressure and other risk factors for placental disease.

  Why is this study important?
  One in ten women have high blood pressure in pregnancy. Without treatment this can cause damage to a woman’s heart, kidneys and brain, and cause harm to her baby. It is likely that there are different pathways through which a woman develops high blood pressure in pregnancy. Some women remain well but their placenta can be affected causing the baby to be born very small. Other women have a baby with normal growth, but they themselves can develop severe problems their heart, kidneys and liver. There haven’t been enough studies to know which is the best blood pressure medicine to use in pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that the medicines commonly used do not work well in all women, but we don't fully understand why.

  Over the last 25 years, MRI has proved a useful tool in assessing the heart, and is now the 'gold standard' for assessing it's function in adults, giving detailed insight in to the way the heart works and the impact of treatments for heart disease. Placental MRI has been developed over the last decade, and can give information about the way the placenta is functioning. This new study will aim to address the knowledge gap surrounding the pathways to developing and the treatment of blood pressure problems in pregnancy using MRI scanning of the heart and placenta.

• REC name

  Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  22/YH/0144

• Date of REC Opinion

  20 Jul 2022

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion