<p>Biochemical and epidemiological aspects of pre-eclampsia were investigated, with the main focus on possible pathophysiological differences between early-onset and late-onset disease.</p><p>In pre-eclamptic women poor correlation was found between albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) in a random urine sample and total amount of albumin in a 24-hour urine collection. <i>(Paper I)</i><b> </b></p><p>In a cohort of women giving birth in Sweden in 1973-82 we estimated the adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) during the years 1987–2001. The adjusted IRR for development of IHD was 1.6-2.8 in woman exposed to gestational hypertensive disease during her pregnancy compared with unexposed women. The higher risk represents more severe or recurrent hypertensive disease. <i>(Paper II)</i></p><p>Before delivery, in early-onset pre-eclampsia (24-32 weeks) there were pronounced alterations in plasma concentrations of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) and placental growth factor (PlGF), and also a higher placental 8-iso-PGF<sub>2α</sub> concentration and an elevated serum ratio of plasminogen-activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 to PAI-2 compared with early controls. In late-onset pre-eclampsia (35-42 weeks) there were only moderate alterations in sFlt1 and PlGF concentrations, and the placental 8-iso-PGF<sub>2α</sub> concentration and PAI-1/ PAI-2 ratio were similar to those in late controls. <i>(Papers III, V)</i> There was a rapid postpartum decrease in sFlt1 concentration in all groups. One week postpartum the sFlt1 concentration was persistently higher, however, in women with early-onset pre-eclampsia compared with early controls. <i>(Paper IV)</i></p><p>In conclusion: random ACR cannot replace 24-hour urine collections for quantification of albuminuria in pre-eclamptic women; gestational hypertensive disease, especially severe or recurrent, increases the risk for later IHD; early-onset, but not late-onset pre-eclampsia is associated with pronounced alterations of angiogenesis-related markers and only early-onset pre-eclampsia is associated with placental oxidative stress and an increased PAI-1/ PAI-2 ratio, all suggesting a stronger link between early-onset than late-onset pre-eclampsia and a dysfunctional placenta.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:uu-8279 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Wikström, Anna-Karin |
| Publisher | Uppsala University, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary, text |
| Relation | Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine, 1651-6206 ; 282 |
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