title: A mass spectrometric multicenter study supports classification of preeclampsia as heterogeneous disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The diagnostic value of affinity-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis to distinguish preeclampsia (PE) from matched controls was tested in a multicenter setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples of preeclamptic (n = 60) and healthy pregnant women (n = 66) from four centers were prospectively analyzed with predefined rule sets.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall sample classification reached sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 0.73. Separate calculations for early-onset PEs only (before 34 weeks of gestation) revealed sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 0.89.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry serum-profiling with center-wise standardization offers a fast and robust method to classify PE and contributes to the theory of PE being a heterogeneous disorder that ought to be subclassified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pecks
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schütt
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Röwer
authors.forename: Toralf
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reimer
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Preschany
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stepan
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rath
authors.forename: Michael O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Glocker
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020543:Proteome; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome