Earticle

Preeclampsia (PE) is the most common medical complication of preg-nancy characterized by hypertension and significant proteinuria after the 20th week of gestation, its prevalence is about 2%–8% of pregnan-cies. Antihypertensive drugs were found to have an adverse effect to both the mother and the fetus so interest is increased in nonchemical treatment. This study was conducted to compare between the effects of stretching exercises versus autogenic training (AT) on PE. This study was carried out on 40 preeclamptic primiparous women, their gesta-tional age was exceeding 20 weeks. They were randomly divided into two equal groups; group A consisted of 20 women received stretching exercises and group B consisted of 20 women received relaxation training in the form of AT. All patients in both groups A and B received (3 sessions per week for 6 weeks) and received methyldopa as the antihy-pertensive drug. Evaluation of all patients in both groups A and B was done before and after the treatment program by assessing arterial blood pressure and proteinuria. Results of this study revealed that there is a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and proteinuria in both groups A and B after 6 weeks of treat-ment. There was no significant difference between both groups post-treatment in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pro-teinuria. It can be concluded that both stretching exercise and AT were found to be effective nonchemical methods which control the symp-toms of PE.

자간전증은 전세계적으로 모성 및 주산기 사망과 이환의 주된 원인이나 아직까지 병인기전은 명확하게 규명되지 않은 실정이다. 자간전증은 일반적으로 두 단계 질환으로 알려져 있으며, 그 임상의 첫 단계는 모체의 나선동맥의 얕은 세포영양아층 침투에 의한 태반 부전이 발생한다. 태반 부전에 의한 허혈성 태반이 모체의 순환 혈류 내로 용해성 인자와 싸이토카인, 영양막 조직파편을 유리하면, 전신적인 내피세포 손상 및 기능 부전을 야기하고, 이로 인하여 자간전증 이차 단계인 모체 증후군이 나타난다. 역학적 연구에서 자간전증에 대한 유전적 소인이 일관되게 증명되었다. 집중적 연구 노력에 의한 감수성 유전자 발견은 자간전증의 병태생리를 이해하는데 있어서 유용한 정보를 줄 것이며 자간전증의 치료 및 예방 방법에 대한 방향을 제시할 것이다. 본 주제에서는 자간전증의 병태생리에 있어서 유전적 요인의 역할에 대한 최신 이해를 요약하고 자간전증의 유전적 실마리를 찾기 위한 분자적 접근에 대해 설명하고자 한다.

Pre-eclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide, but remains unclear about the underlying disease mechanisms. Pre-eclampsia is currently believed to be a two-stage disease. The first stage involves shallow cytotrophoblast invasion of maternal spiral arteriole, resulting in placental insufficiency. The hypoxic placenta release soluble factors, cytokines, and trophoblastic debris into maternal circulation, which induce systemic endothelial damage and dysfunction. This cause the second stage of the disease: maternal syndrome. Epidemiological research has consistently demonstrated a familial predisposition to pre-eclampsia. Intensive research efforts have been made to discover susceptibility genes that will inform our understanding of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and that may provide direction for therapeutic or preventative strategies. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the role of genetic factors in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and explain the molecular approach to search for genetic clues in pre-eclampsia.

Visual disturbances are common among women with pre-eclampsia. The obstetricians should have an understanding of the various conditions associated with visual impairments. We report a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy developed after pre-eclampsia combined with acute pancreatitis. A 33-year-old primigravida with twin pregnancy was admitted to the department of obstetrics and gynecology for preterm labor and pre-eclampsia at 36+4 weeks gestation. After a cesarean section, she complained of abdominal pain and visual acuity loss. She was diagnosed with Purtscher-like retinopathy combined with acute pancreatitis after ophthalmologic examination and an abdominal computed tomography scan. Purtscher-like retinopathy, most often observed after trauma, is very rare in pre-eclampsia. In addition, while visual disturbances from other conditions are transient, it can result in persistent visual impairments. Thus, when a patient with pre-eclampsia complains of visual problems for a long period of time, obstetricians should consider an ophthalmologic evaluation and treatments during the earliest stage of the disease.

Pre-eclampsia is known to cause considerable maternal morbidity and mortality. Thus, many studies have examined the etiopathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. While many pathophysiological factors related to pre-eclampsia have been identified, the precise etiopathogenesis of pre-eclampsia remains unclear. Numerous studies have identified factors for the early prediction for pre-eclampsia to lead to preparation and closer observation on pre-eclampsia when it occurs. This article reviews on current studies of biomarkers and genetic factors related to pre-eclampsia, which may be important for developing strategies for early prediction of pre-eclampsia.

Background: Management of pregnant women at high risk of pre-eclampsia (PE) requires frequent monitoring, with referral to specialized perinatal care centers. Reliable tests are necessary to improve prediction of PE and related complications and to assess disease severity and progression. An imbalance in two biomarkers, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF), is involved in PE pathogenesis. The sFlt-1 to PlGF ratio is increased in pregnant women before the onset of PE. An elevated ratio is highly predictive of PE, whereas the diagnosis of PE can be ruled out within one week for low ratios. The main objective of this study was to assess whether a low sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, below a cutoff of 38, can predict the absence of PE within one week.

Purpose: There is a paucity of information on the serum soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (sVEGFR-2) concentrations, membranous VEGFR-2 expression and the mechanism involved in their modulations during the clinical onset of pre-eclampsia. This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of sVEGFR-2 in serum and to investigate the expression of membranous VEGFR-2 in placentae of pre-eclampsia group. Materials and Methods: The serum levels of sVEGFR-2 (n = 120) and the expression of membranous VEGFR-2 in placentae (n = 100) were analysed at third trimester of pregnancy by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry respectively. The diagnostic parameters of sensitivity, specificity and association of soluble and membranous VEGFR-2 in these patients were evaluated. Results: The serum levels of sVEGFR-2 in pre-eclampsia patients were found to be significantly reduced (p = 0.01, p = 0.001) in early and late pre-eclamptic sub-groups as compared to their respective third trimester control sub-groups. Also, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed a cut-off value of 7350.4 pg/mL, higher sensitivity (76%) and specificity (76%) for sVEGFR-2 in late onset (> 34 weeks) pre-eclamptic group. Significant down-regulation of membranous VEGFR-2 immunoreactivity was observed in all the placental cells (p = 0.0001) at > 34 weeks preeclamptic group. Conclusion: The reduced serum levels of soluble VEGFR-2 and the down-regulated expression of membranous VEGFR-2 in the study group denoted abnormality in VEGF mediated placental function in all placental cells and thus VEGFR-2 may be a key factor, intimately associated with pre-eclampsia. This study shows the clinical utility of soluble and membranous VEGFR-2 in pre-eclampsia patients.

Objective: To examine the first-trimester maternal serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) levels in pregnancies associated with pre-eclampsia (PE) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, and determine the predictive accuracy of PlGF and of PAPP-A for either PE or SGA infants. Methods: This prospective, observational study included 175 pregnant women, and of these women, due to participant withdrawal or loss to follow-up, delivery data were collected from the medical records of 155 women, including 4 who had twin pregnancies. The women’s maternal history was recorded, and the PlGF and PAPP-A levels at 11 to 13 gestational weeks were measured. During the second trimester, the maternal uterine artery’s systolic/diastolic ratio was measured. Multiples of the median (MoM) of PlGF and PAPP-A were determined, and the associations of these values with the risk factors of SGA and PE were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether PlGF and PAPP-A are useful markers for predicting SGA infants. Results: The PAPP-A MoM level was significantly lower in women with advanced maternal age, multipara women, and women with gestational diabetes than in their counterparts. The PlGF and PAPP-A MoM levels were higher in women with a twin pregnancy than in those with a singleton pregnancy. There was a significant relationship between the maternal serum PAPP-A MoM level in the first trimester and the uterine artery systolic/diastolic ratio in the second trimester. Results: of logistic regression analysis showed that low PlGF and PAPP-A MoM levels were predictors of SGA infants (odds ratio, 0.143; 95% confidence interval, 0.025 to 0.806; odds ratio, 0.191; 95% confidence interval, 0.051 to 0.718, respectively). Conclusion: PlGF and PAPP-A are potentially useful as first-trimester markers for SGA infants and some hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

=전자간증의 신경학적 증상은 드물지 않게 관찰된다. 그러나 전자간증에서 다른 신경학적 이상 없이 발생한 외향신경마비는 매우 드물다. 중증 전자간증에서 병발한 외향신경마비 1예를 간단한 문헌고찰과 함께 보고한다.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the overseas clinical study trends on Chinese Medicine treatment for Pre-eclampsia. Methods: We searched articles published from Pubmed, Embase and CNKI. The period was set from 2004 to 2023. Searched keywords were "Pre-eclampsia", "Preeclampsia", "Chinese medicine", "Herbal medicine", "子癎前期", "子癎前症", "中藥", "中醫". Results: 21 articles were finally selected. There were 16 RCTs, 3 case control studies, 2 case series. 2 articles used both acupuncture and western medicine, 19 articles used both herbal medicine and western medicine. 風池 (GB20), 太衝 (LR3), 足三里 (ST36) were the most frequently used acupoints, Paeoniae Radix alba (白芍藥) is the most frequently used in herbal medicine treatment. Conclusions: Our review found that chinese medicine combined with western medicine is more effective for alleviating symptoms of pre-eclampsia.