title: Serum levels of apelin, salusin-alpha and salusin-beta in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the serum apelin, salusin-alpha and salusin-beta levels and preeclampsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one healthy pregnant women (control group) and 48 patients with preeclampsia (study group) were included in the study between August 2010 and February 2011. Serum apelin, salusin-alpha and salusin-beta levels of the groups were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients in the study group were divided into two categories: mild preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. The mild preeclampsia group consisted of 31 patients, and the severe preeclampsia group consisted of 17 patients. Serum salusin-alpha and salusin-beta levels of the control and study groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Apelin levels were statistically significantly higher in the study group. No statistically significant difference was detected between the mild and severe preeclampsia groups in terms of the mean serum apelin levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum levels of apelin were higher in the pregnant women with preeclampsia; however, there was no positive relationship between serum salusin-alpha and salusin-beta levels and the disease. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey. dryavuzsimsek@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Simsek
authors.forename: Onder
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Ercan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karaer
authors.forename: Cagdas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000073861:Apelin; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: C115436:APLN protein, human; D000073861:Apelin; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C478739:TOR2A protein, human