Serum Homocysteine and Lipoprotein(a) Levels in Preeclamptic Pregnants

Objectives: The etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia has been shown to include the existence of vascular damage with endothelial dysfunction being the most directly related with development of the disorder. Elevated total homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) are risk factors for endothelial dysfunction and vascular diseases. We compared serum total homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) levels in healthy pregnant women and preeclamptics and investigated the relationship between these parameters. Patients and Methods: Total homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) levels in serum of 28 women with preeclampsia and 25 normotensive women were measured by chemiluminescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods, respectively. Both groups were composed of third trimester pregnants. Results: Concentrations of total homocysteine (amicro;mol/L) were significantly higher in women with preeclampsia than in normotensive pregnants. [8.54aplusmn;4.76 vs. 4.85aplusmn;1.50, (meanaplusmn;standart deviation), respectively; palt;0.001]. But no significant difference in lipoprotein(a) values (mg/dL) was observed in preeclamptics compared with matched healthy pregnants (Geometric mean: 4.15 mg/dL in preeclampsia vs. 2.30 mg/dL in controls). Conclusion: There is a 1.8 fold increase in serum total homocysteine in preeclampsia compared to normotensive pregnants, which may cause vascular endothelial dysfunction. Circulating lipoprotein(a) is not significantly elevated in preeclamptics and thus is unlikely to play a role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Turkish Baslik: Preeklamptik Gebelerde Serum Homosistein ve Lipoprotein(a) Duzeyleri Anahtar Kelimeler: Preeklampsi; homosistein, lipoprotein(a) Amac: Preeklampsinin etyopatogenezinde, hastaligin gelisimi ile dogrudan iliskili olan endotel disfonksiyonu ile birlikte vaskuler hasarin varligi gosterilmistir. Yuksek total homosistein ve lipoprotein(a), endotelyal disfonksiyon ve vaskuler hastaliklar icin risk faktorleridir. Bu calismanin amaci saglikli ve preeklamptik gebe kadinlarda serum total homosistein ve lipoprotein(a) duzeylerini karsilastirmak ve aralarindaki iliskiyi arastirmaktir. Hastalar ve Yontemler: Yirmi sekiz preeklampsili ve 25 normotansif kadinin serumunda total homosistein ve lipoprotein(a) duzeyleri sirasi ile kemiluminesans ve enzim bagli immunosorbent olcum yontemleri ile tayin edildi. Her iki grup da 3. trimesterdeki gebelerden olusturuldu. Bulgular: Total homosistein konsantrasyonlari (amicro;mol/L) preeklampsili kadinlarda normotansif gebelerden anlamli derecede yuksek bulundu [sirasi ile, 8.54aplusmn;4.76; 4.85aplusmn;1.50, (ortalamaaplusmn;standart sapma); palt;0.001]. Fakat preeklamptiklerde gozlenen lipoprotein(a) degerleri (mg/dL) saglikli gebelere kiyasla onemli derecede farklilik gostermedi (Geometrik ortalama: preeklamptiklerde, 4.15 mg/dL; kontrollerde 2.30 mg/dL). Sonuc: Preeklampside serum total homosistein duzeyinde normotansif gebelere kiyasla 1.8 kat artis vardir. Bu artis vaskuler endotelyal disfonksiyona yol acabilir. Dolasimdaki lipoprotein(a) preeklamptiklerde onemli bir yukselme gostermediginden, bu hastaligin patofizyolojisinde rol oynamadigi gorulmektedir.