title: Digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in twin and pregnancy-associated hypertensive pregnancies.
abstract: The objective of this study was to measure maternal total digoxin-like immunoreactive factor levels in singleton pregnancies with or without hypertension and in twin pregnancies. Plasma digoxin-like immunoreactive factor was measured in 113 third-trimester patients: 51 normotensives, 20 preeclamptics, 19 with latent or chronic hypertension, and 23 with twin pregnancies. The concentration of total digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in the twin gestations (1143 +/- 249 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in either the normotensive pregnancies (890 +/- 161 pg/mL) (P less than .001) or in the hypertensive pregnancies (903 +/- 256 pg/mL) (P less than .01). However, there were no significant differences in digoxin-like immunoreactive factor levels between the normotensive and hypertensive groups. A trend of higher, although not statistically significant, levels of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor was noted in the chronic hypertensive group as compared with the preeclamptic patients (957 +/- 212 versus 852 +/- 288 pg/mL). We therefore conclude that digoxin-like immunoreactive factor does not contribute significantly to the pathogenesis or prediction of preeclampsia. The increased amount of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in twin pregnancies may reflect a contribution from multifetal origin, or might be a physiologic adaptive mechanism allowing higher cardiac output by a possible cardiotropic effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics B, Rambam Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jakobi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Krivoy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Paldi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D002298:Cardenolides; D004077:Digoxin; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000097:blood*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012503:Saponins; D014427:Twins
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D002298:Cardenolides; D012503:Saponins; C034504:digoxin-like factors; D004077:Digoxin