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Published on: August 2, 2017
Placental tissue iodine level and blood magnesium concentration in pre-eclamptic and normal pregnancy
M Gulaboglu1, B Borekci, Z Halici
1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey. gulaboglumine@yahoo.com
Objective:
To assess iodine concentration in the placental tissue and magnesium concentration in the blood of women with severe pre-eclampsia in northeast Anatolia and compare these values with those of healthy pregnant women from the same region.
Methods:
Placental tissue and blood specimens were obtained from 20 severely pre-eclamptic and 15 healthy pregnant women. Iodine levels in placental tissue were determined by the Foss method based on the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction.
Results:
Placental tissue iodine levels were lower in women with severe pre-eclampsia than in healthy pregnant women (4.30+/-1.36 ng of iodine/mg protein vs. 7.71+/-2.84 ng of iodine/mg tissue protein; P<0.001), as were blood magnesium levels (1.63+/-0.05 mg/dL vs. 1.87+/-0.05 mg/dL; P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between placental tissue iodine levels and blood magnesium levels in women with severe pre-eclampsia (r=0.55, P<0.05), but no such correlation was observed in healthy pregnant women (r=0.23, P=0.41).
Conclusion:
Magnesium assimilation is known to be defective when iodine levels are insufficient. In northeast Anatolia, where iodine deficiency is common, clinical trials of iodine supplementation should be considered for pre-eclamptic therapy.
