Identification of vascular endothelial growth factor in preeclampsia in Iraqi women

Preeclampsia (PE) is a major obstetric syndrome and represents a pregnancy hypertensive disease affecting about 2–8% of pregnancies. Typically, it occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy, being classified as early or late in accordance with the gestational age at diagnosis or delivery. An imbalance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors has an important role in the pathophysiology of PE. It was hypothesized that the dysfunctional endothelium contributes to the pathogenesis of PE. A change in the production of Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGR), a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction, is associated with this disease, whether presenting an increase, decrease, or being at a normal level. This study examined the associations between VEGF and preeclampsia and the importance of this VEGF as a predictor of its severity. This case-control study included 50 patients with preeclampsia and 50 normotensive pregnant women in the control group. Venous blood was aspirated from each patient, and VEGF levels were measured from sera. The mean VEGF for patients with mild PE was 29.410±18.976 pg/ml, for those with severe PE it was 36.188±36.98 pg/ml, and for normotensive women it was 92.104±154.715 pg/ml. There were significant differences in VEGF levels between the studied groups (P=0.024). This study showed that serum VEGF levels were significantly reduced in patients with preeclampsia compared with normotensive pregnant women, suggesting marked endothelial dysfunction. This led to widespread vasoconstriction and, in turn, caused hypertension and proteinuria.