title: Serum placental growth factor and fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 during first trimester in Chinese women with pre-eclampsia--a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between first trimester maternal placental growth factor (PlGF) and fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) levels with subsequent development of pre-eclampsia (PE).
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a matched case-control study using stored serum samples collected from non-smoking Chinese women with singleton pregnancies who underwent first trimester screening for aneuploidy. Each case that developed PE was matched with a control whose maternal age, weight, gestational age and date of blood collection were within ± 2 years, ± 5 kg, ± 1 day, and ± 2 weeks of the index case, respectively. Non-parametric paired test was used to compare the PlGF and sFlt-1 levels. PlGF and sFlt-1 were transformed to their equivalent multiple of the median (MoM) using the matched control as the expected median value. The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the estimated median PlGF and sFlt-1 MoM in those with PE was determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median PlGF level in the 27 study cases with PE was lower than that of the matched controls (42.9 pg/ml versus 59.8 pg/ml; p = 0.001). The median PIGF MoM was 0.71 (95% CI 0.63-0.92). There was no statistically significant difference in sFlt-1 levels between those with PE and their matched control (p = 0.648). The median sFlt-1 MoM was 1.01 (95% CI 0.65-1.3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who developed PE had lower serum PlGF levels but normal sFlt-1 levels in the first trimester.
authors.affiliation: Fetal Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. lwlaw@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Lai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wa Law
authors.forename: Daljit Singh
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sahota
authors.forename: Lin Wai
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tze Kin
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Tak Yeung
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C000608036:PGF protein, human; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1