New Study Links High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy to Seizures in Children
A recent study has uncovered an important connection: mothers who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy (known as gestational hypertension) may have children with an increased risk of seizures. These findings suggest that swelling or inflammation in the brain might be the underlying reason for this link, potentially opening doors for new ways to prevent seizures in affected children.
What the Study Found
Researchers looked at a massive amount of patient data – over 246 million records from hospitals and clinics in the U.S. and Lebanon. What they discovered was clear: children born to mothers with high blood pressure during pregnancy had significantly more seizures compared to children whose mothers had normal blood pressure. This association held true across various databases, including those at the University of Iowa, Stanford University, and even a large group in Taiwan.
Dr. Alex Bassuk, a lead researcher from the University of Iowa, highlighted this as a significant team effort involving multiple departments and international collaborations. “The connection between high blood pressure in pregnant moms and seizures in children from these pregnancies had been suggested before,” said Dr. Baojian Xue, another key researcher, “but never examined on such a large scale, and never modeled in an animal.”
Understanding the “Why”: Insights from Mouse Models
To dig deeper into how high blood pressure in pregnancy might lead to seizures in children, the scientists used two types of mouse models. These models confirmed that being exposed to high blood pressure in the womb made mouse offspring more likely to have seizures and even more vulnerable to death from seizures.
Crucially, these mouse studies also pointed to neuroinflammation (inflammation in the brain) as a major factor in this process. Interestingly, they also noted differences between sexes, with male offspring showing a greater vulnerability to seizures.
“This study is unique because we combined findings from huge clinical databases with direct proof from animal models,” explained Dr. Vinit Mahajan from Stanford University, a co-author on the study. “Based on what we learned from the models, we were even able to reduce seizures in mouse offspring using anti-inflammatory drugs.”
What This Means for the Future
This new understanding of the link between high blood pressure in pregnancy and seizures in children is exciting for researchers. It could pave the way for entirely new avenues of research, potentially leading to better ways to identify children at risk and even developing new treatments or therapies to prevent seizures in those exposed to gestational hypertension in the womb.
Source: Carver College of Medicine | June 16, 2025