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Comparative study of lactoferrin and other blood markers of inflammatory stress between preeclamptic and normal
I Rebelo1, F Carvalho-Guerra, L Pereira-Leite
1Departamento de Bioquimica, Faculdade de Farmacia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.
Objective:
To test lactoferrin as a blood discriminator of neutrophil activation between normal and preeclamptic pregnancy.
Design:
Comparative study between normal (n = 40) and preeclamptic women receiving treatment (n = 42) in the third trimester of pregnancy and in the post partum period (30 women with normal pregnancy and 22 with preeclampsia).
Methods:
Blood, serum or plasma measurements of neutrophils, lactoferrin, vitamin C, vitamin E, lipid peroxidation products, elastase, C-reactive protein (CRP), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma GT), haptoglobin, osmotic fragility, urea, creatinine, uric acid, transaminases (ASAT, ALAT), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), platelets, red and white blood cells.
Results:
In preeclamptic women the ratios of lactoferrin per neutrophil or per erythrocyte are higher before delivery than in normal women but decrease after delivery. Delivery induces a greater inflammatory response in normal pregnancy as detected by blood concentrations of inflammatory markers and hepatic and renal parameters.
Conclusion:
Whereas in normal pregnant women neutrophil activation increases with delivery, in preeclamptic women the opposite occurs.
