ABSTRACT
Background:Amount of Placental Growth Factor (PLGF) in the blood at 9 to 11 weeks before the onset of clinical signs of pre-eclampsia is reduced. So, diagnostic tests based on the pathophysiology of disease such as PLGF as an ideal marker for early screening in the diagnosis and management of women with preeclampsia, may be useful. The aim of this study was to investigate PLGF in predicting pregnancy outcome in women with suspected pre-eclampsia.Methods: A case - control study was conducted on 30 women with suspected pre-eclampsia and 101 healthy pregnant women which selected randomly among all pregnant women referred to clinic. Both groups were followed until pregnancy termination and in terms of pregnancy outcomes (Gestational age, Type of delivery and birth weight). Two groups were matched in terms of age, weight, education, substance abuse and socio-economic status. Placental growth factor assay was done by ELISA kit. Data collected by a checklist and analyzed by statistical methods in SPSS.19.Results:The mean PLGF level was lower for women who experienced preeclampsia compared with healthy women (71.5 pg/ml vs 272.1 pg/ml, p=0.001). Also, PLGF concentrations was very low in women with preeclampsia who had a preterm birth prematurity.Conclusions:Study findings identified PlGF as an ideal, simple and non-invasive marker for primary screening at prenatal care for women at risk of pre-eclampsia.
ABSTRACT
Bacground and aim: There are few reports from Iran about the epidemiology and clinical features of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we aimed to determine the epidemiologic profile and clinical features of ulcerative colitis (UC) in Northwest of Iran. Methods: This retrospective study covered the time period from 1998 to 2008 and included all patients of a private gasteroenterology clinic in the northwest of Iran, who had diagnosis of UC at the time of presentation or those whose diagnosis had been made later. In addition to description of epidemiology and clinical feature of disease, an attempt was made to identify factors associated with severity of disease. Results: A total of 105 patients including 61 females (58.1%) were evaluated. Mean age of the patients was 33.5 ± 13.1 years. The median time interval from initiation of symptoms to diagnosis was 9 months. The commonest presentation was proctosigmoiditis. (48.6%). Among extraintestinal manifestations, sclerosing cholangitis had the highest frequency and was found in 2 (1.9%) patients. Among all evaluated variables, only family income (the higher the income the more severe the disease) and cigarette smoking (inverse association) were find to have significant association with severity of disease. Conclusion: A case profile of patients with ulcerative colitis from Northwest Iran suggests that the disease is seen most commonly in the third decade of life with a female preponderance. Family income and smoking influenced the course of ulcerative colitis in Iranian patients.