
New Drug Cuts Preeclampsia Deaths in Cape Town Trial
A breakthrough drug is saving mothers with preeclampsia, a deadly pregnancy complication that kills 42,000 women worldwide each year. After 15 failed attempts, researchers in South Africa discovered the right dose that stabilized dangerously high blood pressure almost instantly.
A mother's blood pressure suddenly dropped from life-threatening levels to normal the moment doctors started a new IV treatment, and researchers at a Cape Town hospital couldn't believe what they were seeing.
For a decade, Dr. Cathy Cluver searched for a way to treat preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that damages blood vessels and sends blood pressure soaring. The condition forces doctors into an impossible choice: deliver babies early to save the mother, or risk the mother's life to give babies more time to develop.
Abigail Hendricks knew this fear firsthand when she was pregnant with her fifth child in 2024. The 33-year-old Cape Town mother developed severe headaches, blurred vision, and her blood pressure climbed to 163 over 101. Doctors warned the high blood pressure could trigger seizures that might kill her or her baby.
"It made me feel scared and worried," Hendricks recalls. She prayed morning and night for both of them to survive.
At Tygerberg Hospital, where 8,000 high-risk mothers deliver each year, Cluver sees the toll preeclampsia takes daily. Mothers with swollen feet, legs, and hands wait in hospital rooms, putting their own lives at risk for their babies.

The condition starts when the placenta doesn't get enough oxygen and sends distress signals that spike the mother's blood pressure. Traditional blood pressure drugs help the mother but can starve the baby of oxygen, making everything worse.
Two years ago, a U.S. pharmaceutical company contacted Cluver about testing DM199, a drug originally developed for stroke patients. The drug works on blood vessels in a way that could potentially help both mother and baby.
Why This Inspires
The trial started cautiously with small groups of women receiving gradually higher doses. After 15 patients showed little improvement, research nurse Jacqui Thake doubted the drug would work at all.
Then patient number 16 received the next dose level. Her dangerously high blood pressure stabilized almost the moment the IV infusion began. Sky-high readings came down so fast the team thought they were seeing things.
"We suddenly saw these sky-high blood pressures coming down and we were like, 'We don't believe this. This is impossible!'" Cluver remembers. That's when real excitement started spreading through the hospital.
Hendricks became one of the trial participants. Today, she's home with her healthy nine-month-old son Hayden, grateful for the blessing she calls a gift from God.
The discovery offers hope for the 42,000 mothers who die from preeclampsia each year worldwide, finally giving doctors a tool that protects both mother and baby at the same time.
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Based on reporting by Google News - Health
This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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