
Lunenfeld- Tanenbaum
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
600 University Avenue
Toronto Ontario M5G 1X5
Tel.: 416-586-4800 ext.4803
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Dr.
Isabella Caniggia
INVESTIGATOR
As
a Senior Investigator, Dr. Isabella Caniggia is a leading
authority on placental development and preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is
the most common complication of pregnancy, affecting seven to 10 per
cent of all pregnancies, and yet there is no cure and the cause is
unknown. This common disease can lead to blindness, epilepsy, deafness
and cerebral palsy in newborns, and to hypertension, cardiac problems
and diabetes later in life.
Dr. Caniggia and her team have made
progress in identifying genetic alterations, or biomarkers, that
predict whether pregnant women will have early- or late-onset
preeclampsia. The earlier preeclampsia is detected, the better the
chances for improved health of both mother and
child.
Dr. Caniggia holds several patents on
potential diagnostic tools and clinical practices. Recently, Dr.
Caniggia licensed her biomarker findings to help develop a diagnostic
tool that will detect and manage preeclampsia in expectant mothers over
the next five years. Potentially, physicians will use a point-of-care
kit to detect and measure increased levels of the biomarker endoglin in
expectant mothers who are at increased risk of preeclampsia.
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