INTRODUCTIONPreeclampsia is a clinical manifestation characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and edema that occurs after 20 th week of pregnancy. It is a multisystem disorder of pregnancy with potentially severe consequences for both mother and child.1 It affects about 5-8% of all pregnancies and is a major cause of maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. 2,3 The etiology of preeclampsia is unknown but thought to be related to hypoxia in the placenta and endothelial dysfunction. 4 The various causes that leads to these abnormalities ABSTRACT Background: Preeclampsia affects about 5-8% of all pregnancies and is a major cause of maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Evidences prove that endothelial cell and altered endothelial cell function play an important role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Therefore serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and serum gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) are the useful biochemical markers reflecting the severity of the occurrenc e of preeclampsia. The objective was to determine serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and serum gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) as biochemical markers in preeclamptic pregnant women and its comparison with normal pregnant women in third trimester. Methods: This is the case-control hospital based study carried in the Department of Biochemistry M.G.M. Medical College and associated M.Y. Hospital. Indore (M.P.). Normal pregnant women (n=48), women with preeclampsia (n=53) were included in the study. Both the groups were in their third trimester and of same age and same gestational age. Preeclamptic group was further divided into two subgroups mild (n=36) and severe (n=17) preeclampsia. Results: There were no significant differences among the three groups in age and body mass index but significantly higher differences in gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed. Higher values of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were found in mild and severe preeclamptic women than those of normal pregnant women in third trimester but the values of serum LDH was significantly elevated in severe preeclamptic women when comparison was done between mild and severe preeclamptic women. Serum GGT was significantly higher among all the groups. Conclusion: Elevated levels of serum LDH and serum GGT indicates the tissue damage related to endothelial vascular damage and are the main cause of the occurrence of preeclampsia.

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Background: Despite numerous studies, the etiology of pre eclampsia has not been fully elucidated. The study of serum calcium and serum magnesium is gaining ground in the patho physiology of hypertension.Objective: A comparative study of serum calcium and serum magnesium in women with preeclamptic pregnancy and its comparison with healthy normotensive nonpregnant women and healthy normotensive pregnant women in third trimester. Materials and methods:Serum calcium and serum magnesium were measured in 52 women with preeclampsia in their trimester of pregnancy as patients group, and in 73 healthy normotensive nonpregnant women and 65 healthy normotensive pregnant women as control groups with similar maternal and gestational ages. Preeclamptic group was further divided into two subgroups mild (n = 36) and severe preeclampsia (n = 16). This is the casecontrol hospital based study carried in the Department of Biochemistry, MGM Medical College and associated MY Hospital, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.Results: There were no significant differences among the three groups in age and body mass index (BMI) (p > 0.05) but significantly higher differences in gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed (p < 0.001). When com parison of serum calcium and serum magnesium between healthy normotensive nonpregnant women (9.87 ± 0.6 mg/dl, 2.60 ± 0.3 mg/dl) and healthy normotensive pregnant women was done, the levels were lower in the healthy normotensive preg nant women (9.34 ± 0.49 mg/dl, 2.36 ± 0.13 mg/dl) with sta tistically higher significant difference (p < 0.001). Lower mean values of serum calcium and serum magnesium were found in preeclamptic women (8.82 ± 0.93 mg/dl, 1.74 ± 0.24 mg/dl) than those of healthy normotensive nonpregnant women (9.87 ± 0.6 mg/dl, 2.60 ± 0.3 mg/dl) and healthy normotensive pregnant women (9.34 ± 0.49 mg/dl, 2.36 ± 0.13 mg/dl) in third trimester with statistically higher significant differences (p < 0.001). As compare to mild preeclamptic pregnant women (9.07 ± 0.8 mg/ dl, 1.77 ± 0.24 mg/dl), the levels of serum calcium and serum magnesium in severe preeclamptic pregnant women (8.25 ± 0.97 mg/dl 1.65 ± 0.24 mg/dl) was lower and the difference was significantly higher (p < 0.001). Conclusion:These findings support the hypothesis that hypo calcemia and hypomagnesemia are possible etiologies of preeclampsia and levels of calcium may be more important than magnesium.

Background: During normal pregnancy, changes in thyroid function is documented and these changes are physiological and have been considered as one of the pathophysiological causes of preeclampsia. The information regarding thyroid function in preeclampsia is scanty. Aim: To estimate the levels of thyroid hormones in preeclamptic pregnant women and to compare it with healthy normotensive pregnant women. Meterials and Methods: Thirty five pregnant women clinically diagnosed as preeclampsia were enrolled and an equal age matched, parity matched and gestation age matched healthy normotensive pregnant women were taken as controls for the study. This is a case-control hospital based study carried at Department of Biochemistry ,M.G.M. Medical College and associated M.Y. Hospital. Indore (M.P.) Blood samples collected were estimated for T3, T4 and TSH by a one step enzyme immunoassay sandwich method. Comparison between both the groups was done by Student's t-test.Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in age and BMI but significantly higher differences in gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed. No significant levels of T3 and T4 between healthy normotensive pregnant and preeclamptic pregnant women was observed. The study shows highly significant increase in the TSH levels in preeclampsia as compared to normal pregnancy. Conclusion: The study concluded that the thyroid disorder is one of the predisposing causes for preeclampsia. Hence thyroid hormonal assay can be considered as a screening test for early diagnosis and treatment of preeclampsia to prevent further complications of it.

Preeclampsia is referred to as the “disease of the theories” because of the multiple hypotheses proposed to explain its occurrence. Despite considerable research, the causes of preeclampsia remain unclear. It is multifactorial in nature and recent research has focused on the measurements of various prothrombotic markers for detection of latent clotting pathway activation. This study was undertaken to determine the changes in the levels of plasma Antithrombin -III (AT-III) and platelet count in preeclamptic women and its comparison with healthy non-pregnant women and normal pregnant women and its correlation with severity of disease in order to evaluate if it can be used as a marker for severity of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). This is the case-control hospital based study carried in the Department of Biochemistry M.G.M. Medical College and associated M.Y. Hospital. Indore (M.P.). 40 women with preeclampsia in the third trimester of pregnancy constituted the study group. The study group was further divided into two subgroups as mild and severe preeclampsia. Age and gestational age matched 23 healthy non –pregnant and 28 normal pregnant women were taken as a control group. There were no significant differences among the three groups in age and body mass index (BMI) but significantly higher differences in gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed. When compared with control groups (healthy non-pregnant and normal pregnant women), the levels of AT-III in preeclamptic group was significantly lower. Although there was no significant difference in the levels of AT-III between healthy non-pregnant and normal pregnant women. The platelet count between healthy non-pregnant and normal pregnant women showed statistically significant difference whereas statistically higher significant difference was observed when comparison was done between healthy non-pregnant women and preeclamptic women and normal pregnant women and preeclamptic women. It was concluded from the study that the reduction of platelet count and AT-III are the main predictors to predict and monitor the severity of the condition. [Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2013; 2(3.000): 398-401