ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine first-trimester maternal serum placental growth factor (PlGF) levels in pregnancies which later develop hypertensive and growth complications. METHODS: In this case-control study, PlGF levels were measured by AutoDELFIA immunoassay platform. There were 47 cases of at least one of the following adverse outcomes: pre-eclampsia (PE), small for gestational age (SGA), haemolysis elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) and gestational hypertension (GH) and 452 matched controls. RESULTS: PlGF levels were significantly lower in cases of all PE, early PE, HELLP, all SGA, early SGA and SGA without PE, but not in GH, late PE, late SGA, PE with SGA or PE without SGA or HELLP. CONCLUSION: Low levels of first-trimester PlGF provide a good indicator of SGA complications and some hypertensive disorders, in particular severe cases of PE such as early onset and HELLP syndrome.
Subject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnosis , Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced/diagnosis , Infant, Small for Gestational Age , Pregnancy Proteins/analysis , Pregnancy Trimester, First/blood , Adult , Biomarkers/analysis , Biomarkers/blood , Case-Control Studies , Female , Fetal Growth Retardation/blood , Gestational Age , Humans , Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced/blood , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Small for Gestational Age/blood , Models, Biological , Placenta Growth Factor , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Outcome , Pregnancy Proteins/blood , Prenatal Diagnosis/methods , PrognosisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate first-trimester ADAM-12 levels in pregnancies which later develop hypertensive and growth complications. METHODS: First-trimester serum samples (11(+0) to 13(+6) weeks) were retrieved from frozen storage. 47 samples with at least one of the following adverse outcomes: pre-eclampsia (PE), small for gestational age, HELLP syndrome and gestational hypertension were analysed and 452 controls matched to the cases by gestational age and length of storage were analysed. ADAM-12 levels were measured by the automated AutoDELFIA immunoassay platform. RESULTS: ADAM-12 was found to increase with gestational age (11(+0) to 13(+6) weeks) and decrease with increasing maternal weight and in women who smoked. After correction, ADAM-12 median multiples of the median were increased in cases with HELLP syndrome, all PE and PE only. CONCLUSION: The increased first-trimester levels of ADAM-12 in PE and HELLP are in contrast with previous findings. The usefulness of ADAM-12 as a marker for adverse outcomes is still unclear.
