Significance of lipoprotein [A] in cases of severe pre-eclampsia

To determine the significance of serum lipoprotein [a] [Lp [a]] in cases of severe pre-eclampsia [PET] and to study its relationship to plasma levels of D.dimer, plasminogen, serum triglyceride and serum cholesterol in such cases. - A total of 90 pregnant women were included in this study. 58 cases of them had severe PET and were classified according to their estimated Lp[a] levels into 2 groups. [GroupI: 17 cases had elevated Lp[a] levels and GroupII: 41 cases had normal serum Lp[a] levels]. A third group comprized of 32 normal pregnant women was also added and served as a control group. Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of El-Hussein University Hospital, Al-Azhar University. Serum levels of Lp[a]. plasma levels of D. dimer, plasminogen, serum levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were assessed, for all cases. Group I showed a significantly higher mean value of Lp[a] [70.6 +/- I 7.5mg/dl], compared to Gr. II and III [26.3 +/- 5.5 mg/dl. and 24.5 +/- 5.2 mg/dl, respectively], p<0.00l. No significant difference was found between group II and III. A significant negative correlation was found between serum Lp[a] and plasma D.dimer levels [r = -0.648], [p<0.01]. At the same time a significant positive correlation was found between serum levels of Lp [a] and triglyceride, [r = 0.654], [P< 0.01]. No significant correlation was detected between Lp[a] and any of the plasminogen and cholesterol levels. This work provides an evidence for the association between elevated Lp[a] levels and impaired fibrinolysis in some cases of severe PET. Those cases need a special care to protect them from the risk of increased thrombotic tendency. The positive correlation between Lp[a] and triglyceride may necessitate the need for more researches, regarding a possible combined therapy