ISSN:
1471-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Objective To measure the plasma levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone and corticotrophin-releasing hormone binding protein in normal pregnancy and in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia.Setting John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford and St Thomas's Hospital, London.Subjects One hundred and twenty pregnant women sampled prospectively throughout gestation, of whom 91 experienced a normal pregnancy and eight developed pre-eclampsia; in a second study, 10 women with severe pre-eclampsia, presenting at a range of gestational ages, were sampled once and compared with appropriately matched normal pregnant women.Main outcome measure Plasma levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone determined by immunoradiometric assay. Plasma levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone binding protein measured by direct radioimmunoassay.Results In the prospective study, plasma samples from women with pre-eclampsia exhibited higher (390.2 versus 292.7 pmol/l at 36 weeks) levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone and significantly lower (5.24 versus 8.14 nmol/l at 36 weeks, P 0.002) levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone binding protein than normal controls. In the second, single time point study a significant elevation in CRH (P 〈 0.002) and reduction in CRH-BP (P 〈 0.001) was found in pre-eclamptic pregnancies compared with controls.Conclusions In human pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia there is an elevated level of corticotrophin releasing hormone whilst there is less corticotrophin-releasing hormone binding protein; therefore there is a net increase in free potentially bioactive hormone which may play a role in the pathology of the disease.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1995.tb09063.x
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