DEcreased Cognitive functiON, NEurovascular CorrelaTes and myocardial changes in women with a history of pre-eclampsia (DECONNECT): research protocol for a cross-sectional pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder affecting up to 8% of pregnancies. After pre-eclampsia, women are at increased risk of cognitive problems, and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disorders. These sequelae could result from microvascular dysfunction persisting after pre-eclampsia. This study will explore differences in cerebral and myocardial microvascular function between women after pre-eclampsia and women after normotensive gestation. We hypothesise that pre-eclampsia alters cerebral and myocardial microvascular functions, which in turn are related to diminished cognitive and cardiac performance. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The cross-sectional 'DEcreased Cognitive functiON, NEurovascular CorrelaTes and myocardial changes in women with a history of pre-eclampsia' (DECONNECT) pilot study includes women after pre-eclampsia and controls after normotensive pregnancy between 6 months and 20 years after gestation. We recruit women from the Queen of Hearts study, a study investigating subclinical heart failure after pre-eclampsia. Neuropsychological tests are employed to assess different cognitive domains, including attention, processing speed, and cognitive control. Cerebral images are recorded using a 7 Tesla MRI to assess blood-brain barrier integrity, perfusion, blood flow, functional and structural networks, and anatomical dimensions. Cardiac images are recorded using a 3 Tesla MRI to assess cardiac perfusion, strain, dimensions, mass, and degree of fibrosis. We assess the effect of a history of pre-eclampsia using multivariable regression analyses. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study is approved by the Ethics Committee of Maastricht University Medical Centre (METC azM/UM, NL47252.068.14). Knowledge dissemination will include scientific publications, presentations at conferences and public forums, and social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02347540.

No evidence for a diminished ovarian reserve among patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a case control study.

BACKGROUND: Existing evidence suggests a relation between cardiovascular dysfunction and diminished ovarian reserve. While it is known that pre-existent cardiovascular dysfunction is also associated with the development of preeclampsia (PE) during pregnancy, we hypothesize that signs of diminished ovarian reserve may occur more frequently among women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). The aim of our study was therefore to analyse if women with a history of HDP show signs of diminished ovarian reserve, represented by lower anti-Mullarian hormone (AMH) levels, compared to controls. For this retrospective observational case control study, patients included women with a history of HDP, whereas controls constituted of women with a history of an uncomplicated pregnancy. The study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre in which all women underwent a one-time cardiovascular and metabolic assessment. Ovarian reserve and markers of cardiovascular function were evaluated, adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI) using linear regression analyses. RESULTS: 163 patients and 81 controls were included over a time span of 3 years. No signs of diminished ovarian reserve i.e. lower AMH level were observed in the patient group versus controls. A subgroup analysis even showed higher AMH levels in late onset HDP as compared to controls (2.8 vs. 2.0 µg/L, p = 0.025). As expected, cardiovascular function markers were significantly less favourable in the patient group compared to controls; higher levels of systolic blood pressure (BP) (5%), diastolic BP (4%), triglycerides (29%), glucose (4%) and insulin levels (81%) (all p < 0.05), whereas high density lipid (HDL) cholesterol was 12% lower (NS). CONCLUSIONS: Despite unfavourable cardiovascular risk profile, the present study does not substantiate the hypothesis that women with HDP show accelerated ovarian ageing as compared to healthy parous controls. Although HDP patients should be warned about their cardiovascular health, they shouldn't be concerned about unfavourable ovarian reserve status.