Antioxidant and malondialdehyde status in preeclampsia

Context: Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder, although the cause is unknown, yet oxidative stress is a prominent feature; therefore, assessment of oxidative stress indices in preeclamptics would no doubt improve their clinical outcome. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant and malondialdehyde (MDA) status in preeclampsia. Setting and Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and ninety-six (196) respondents consisting of 124 preeclampsia (PE), 36 normotensive pregnant women (NPW), and 36 analbuminuric hypertensive pregnant women (AHPW) participated in this study. Blood samples were collected for estimation of plasma uric acid, serum MDA, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GSSH) and catalase (CAT) activities, Vitamin C (Vit C), and Vitamin E (Vit E) using standard methods. Statistical Analysis Used: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 with level of significance set at P < 0.05 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Plasma uric acid level was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in PE than in AHPW and NPW. MDA levels, SOD, CAT, and GPX activities showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in PE and AHPW when compared to NPW, while GSSH, NO, Vit C, and Vit E levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in NPW than in PE and AHPW. Most oxidative stress indicators were higher in PE and AHPW than in NPW in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, while Vit C and E were lower. Plasma uric acid, MDA and NO levels, SOD, and GPX activities were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in severe than in mild PE. Conclusion: from our findings, it can be safely suggested that oxidative stress is related to the severity of preeclampsia.