title: Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydiae pneumoniae and trachomatis as probable etiological agents of preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the evidence for Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydiae pneumoniae and trachomatis to act as a probable etiology for preeclampsia (PE), together with estimating the prevalence of such infections in pregnant women with PE.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a prospective study in Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt, for detecting H. pylori infection by estimating H. pylori IgG and IgM, in addition to detection of Chlamydiae infections by PCR in 90 pregnant women with PE and 90 normotensive pregnant women of the same age and body mass index who were studied as control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of H. pylori infection in preeclamptic pregnant women was 54.4% with a statistically significant association to PE. The prevalence of C. pneumonia was 27.8% whereas that of C. trachomatis was 4.44%. The infected preeclamptic cases showed high levels of leucocytes besides elevated C-reactive protein concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Helicobacter pylori was found to act as a cofactor in the development of PE. Occurrence of C. trachomatis was low in pregnant women in our community; however, it showed that it may act as a cofactor in PE, whereas C. pneumoniae was attributed to have no role in PE pathogenesis until supported by further studies.
authors.affiliation: a Obstetric and Gynecology Department and.
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mosbah
authors.affiliation: b Medical Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine , Mansoura University , Mansoura , Egypt.
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nabiel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chlamydiae pneumonia; Chlamydiae trachomatis; Helicobacter pylori; polymerase chain reaction; preeclampsia