title: Study of plasma adrenomedullin level in normal pregnancy and preclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate whether maternal circulating adrenomedullin (AM) values in patients with preeclampsia are different from those in normotensive pregnant women at different gestational ages.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective clinical study, 90 women aged 17 to 40 years old, were divided into 4 main groups: group I (45 women): Normotensive pregnant women at first trimester (15 women), second trimester (15 women), and third trimester (15 women) of pregnancies. Group II (15 women): Pregnant women with preeclampsia at 25 to 38 weeks of gestation. Group III (15 women): Normotensive healthy nonpregnant women. Group IV (15 women): Hypertensive nonpregnant women. The plasma AM concentration was measured in all women by using enzyme immunoassay kits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plasma AM levels in pregnant women with normal blood pressure at different gestational ages (first, second, and third trimesters) were statistically significantly higher than those detected in nonpregnant normotensive women and significantly increased with increasing gestational age (P < .001). Moreover, there was significant positive correlation between plasma AM levels and increasing gestational age (r = 0.915, P < .001). Preeclamptic patients had the highest mean plasma AM levels compared with all other groups, which is statistically significant (P < .001) and there was a significant positive correlation between plasma AM levels and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, severity of preeclampsia, and proteinuria in pregnant patients with preeclampsia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal plasma AM concentration increases throughout pregnancy and increases as gestational age progresses. AM production starts very early in gestation, suggesting that it may have an important role in human reproduction, from implantation to delivery. Maternal plasma AM level in preeclampsia appears to be higher than that in normal pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Banha University, Faculty of Medicine, Banha, Egypt. Azza_abosenna@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Azza Abo
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Senna
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zedan
authors.forename: Gamal E Abd
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: el-Salam
authors.forename: Ashraf I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: el-Mashad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D053607:Adrenomedullin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D053607:Adrenomedullin