title: Vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms and idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether four common polymorphisms (-2578C/A, -1154G/A, -634G/C, and 936C/T) of the gene encoding for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are associated with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two patients with a history of three or more unexplained consecutive pregnancy losses and 82 healthy, postmenopausal controls with at least two live births and no history of pregnancy loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis were performed to identify the different VEGF alleles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant difference in the -1154G/A genotype and allele frequency between women with recurrent pregnancy loss and controls. The risk of recurrent pregnancy loss was lower in the carriers of the G allele than in women carrying the A allele (odds ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval, 0.12-3.28). No significant association between recurrent spontaneous abortions and -2578C/A, -634G/C, and 936C/T genotypes was found. Between women with primary and secondary idiopathic recurrent miscarriage, no statistically significant differences with respect to allele frequencies were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report on VEGF gene polymorphisms in women with recurrent miscarriage, demonstrating that the -1154G/A VEGF gene polymorphism is associated with idiopathic recurrent abortions.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Patriarhou Grigoriou 97-99, Alexandroupolis 68100, Greece. dapap@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Papazoglou
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galazios
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papatheodorou
authors.forename: Vasilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Liberis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Papanas
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maltezos
authors.forename: Georgios B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Maroulis
mesh_terms: D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017354:Point Mutation; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A