Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are common obstetrical problem causing adverse effects on pregnancy outcome. Large bodies of evidences suggest that hyperhomocysteinemia is a causal factor of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. This study designed to explore the association between hyperhomocysteinemia and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, the knowledge of which expected to be used for prevention of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. In a case-control study serum homocysteine was measured in 136 controls (healthy pregnant), 84 pre-eclamptic and 120 eclamptic pregnant women. Serum homocysteine in patients with pre-eclampsia (9.54 ± 3.21 µmol/L) and eclampsia (10.57 ± 3.39 µmol/L) found to be significantly increased compared to controls (6.86 ± 2.47 µmol/L)(p<0.001). Between pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, homocysteine found to be raised more in eclampsia compared to pre-eclampsia (p<0.03). In conclusion, hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with pre-eclampsia as well as eclampsia, but in eclampsia the severity of homocysteine elevation is more compared to that in pre-eclampsia.

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This study was designed to compare the blood lipid profile and conventional cardiovascular risk factors in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic stable angina (CSA). A total of 110 patients, 55 of which were of ACS and 55 with chronic stable angina (CSA) who underwent coronary angiography in the Department of Cardiology, BSMMU, Dhaka were enrolled for the study. Lipid profile and age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking habit, family history of premature coronary artery diseases (CAD) of the patients were recorded and compared. Mean±SD age of the studied patients was 52.2±10 years. Prevalence of diabetes mellitus (p<0.05) and hypertension (p <0.05) was significantly higher in patients with CSA than that with ACS. Frequency of hyperlipidemia, smoking habit and family history of CAD was similar between groups. Patients with CSA had significantly higher triple vessel diseases (TVD) (p < 0.001) and significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) (p < 0.05) compared to that of patients with ACS. ACS patients had significantly higher single vessel diseases (SVD) (p <0.001) compared to that of CSA but the distribution of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), total cholesterol and triglycerides were variable between groups. This study showed that CSA patients had substantially higher frequency of having some CVD risk factors with alteration in certain lipid profile parameters and higher number of triple vessels disease than patients with ACS. This might aid in selecting appropriate criteria for angiographic evaluation and better management of patients with coronary artery diseases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v7i2.22413 Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2014; 7(2): 52-56

Eclampsia is one of the most common pregnancy complications causing high mortality and morbidity for both mother and foetus especially in developing countries. Many studies suggest that elevated homocysteine level is an important risk factor for eclampsia. The aim of this study was to explore the association between serum homocysteine with eclampsia and to establish serum homocysteine measurement as a reliable test for early detection of eclampsia. In a case control study serum homocysteine and lipid profile were measured in 52 controls (healthy uncomplicated pregnant women) and 50 eclamptic pregnant women. Serum homocysteine in eclampsia cases (10.44±4.08 µmol/L) found to be significantly increased (p< 0.001) compared to controls (7.97±3.46 µmol/L). Serum HDL-cholesterol concentration found to be significantly decreased (p<0.001) in the cases (35.98±6.35 mg/dl) compared to controls (42.69±6.09 mg/dl). A significant negative correlation (r-.801, p<0.01) was found between serum homocysteine and HDL-cholesterol concentration among cases. It can be concluded that elevated serum homocysteine and HDL-cholesterol deficiency were associated with eclampsia. But elevated homocysteine itself might be a factor associated with eclampsia irrespective of lipid profile status.

8 . Endothelial cell dysfunction appears to be a central feature in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, leading to altered vascular reactivity, activation of the coagulation cascade, and loss of vascular integrity 9 . The homocysteine-mediated vascular changes are similar to those associated with pre-eclampsia. Therefore, a hypothesis has been proposed that hyperhomocysteinemia may be associated with this condition 10 .Various studies have been carried out globally for searching the association between elevated homocysteine level and eclampsia. In Bangladesh, studies on homocysteine are very few in number. Hyperhomocysteinaemia might be an independent factor associated with eclampsia in Bangladeshi women as well. It could be possible to bring health benefits to our population by treating hyperhomocysteinemia, if it is proved to be associated with eclampsia. So, this study has been designed to explore the association between serum homocysteine with eclampsia and to establish serum homocysteine measurement as a reliable test for early detection of eclampsia. Materials and Methods:A case control study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, from July 2006 to June 2007. Total 102 pregnant non-smokers, free from preexisting hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, renal disease, liver disease and hypothyroidism were taken in the study. Among them 50 were diagnosed cases of eclampsia (Group-I) and 52 were matched normotensive healthy pregnant controls (Group-II). Subjects were selected from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. Study subject of both groups were apparently matched with respect to maternal age, gestational age and BMI. Informed written consent was taken from the patient/ attendant to the patient for each individual case. With all aseptic precautions, morning blood samples were collected from all the subjects. Serum was separated from centrifuged blood and stored at -70°C. Serum homocysteine concentration was analyzed by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) method by Abbot's AxSYM system 11 . The data were analyzed statistically by using SPSS version 12.0. Student's unpaired't' test was performed to see the differences between two groups. For all the statistical analyses 2-tailed P values <0.05 were considered as significant.Ethical clearance: This research work was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. Results:For this study, 50 diagnosed eclampsia cases (Group-I) and 52 uncomplicated healthy pregnant controls (Group-II) were selected. The mean age of the cases was 25.30±5.49 years (ranging from 17 to 38 years) and the mean age of the controls was 26.75±4.83 years (ranging from 17 to 40 years). The mean age of two groups were close and maintain no significant difference. The mean values of gestational age (in weeks) of case and control were 29.29±2.86 and 30.08±2.80 weeks respectively. There was no significant difference of g...