Abstract
Pre-eclampsia is the most common medical complication of pregnancy associated with increased maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Its exact etiology is not known, although several evidences indicate that various elements might play an important role in pre-eclampsia. This study was carried out to analyze and to compare the concentration of calcium, in mild pre-eclampsia and in normal pregnant women , and to determine the effect of oral supplementation with calcium on mild pre-eclampsia , and whether this effect is related to the change in the level of serum calcium. Forty- five women in the third trimester of pregnancy were selected to participate in this study and divided into: fifteen apparently healthy, normotensive pregnant women served as a control group; thirty clinically diagnosed patients with mild pre-eclampsia ( 15 mild pre-eclamptic un-treated group , 15 mild pre-eclamptic treated with calcium carbonate 500 mg twice daily) , the serum calcium were estimated with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer .the data were analyzed using the un- paired Student’s-test.The serum calcium in mild pre-eclmpatic un-treated group was significantly lower than that in normal pregnant women (8.84 ± 1.14 Vs. 9.66 ± 0.87 , p<0.05) , Serum calcium level significantly increased in mild pre-eclamptic treated with calcium carbonate 500mg twice daily as compared to mild pre-eclamptic un-treated group (9.76 ±0.96 Vs 8.84±1.14 ,p<0.05) . Systolic ,diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure were significantly reduced after one month of treatment with calcium carbonate 500 mg twice daily as compared to mild pre-eclamptic un –treated group.(134.83 ± 7.5 Vs139.33 ± 5.30, 88.46 ± 3.27 Vs 91 ± 3.38, 103.90 ± 3.8Vs106.66 ± 3.08 ,p<0.05) respectively.This study showed that serum calcium level in mild pre-eclampsia are lower than in normotensive pregnant women ,this finding support the hypothesis that hypocalcemia is a possible etiology in pre-eclampsia ; additionally this study showed the possible beneficial effect of calcium supplementation in controlling pre-eclampsia and reducing blood pressure by increasing serum calcium level .
 Key words: Mild Pre-eclampsia, Calcium carbonate tablet, Pregnant women, Serum calcium
Highlights
Preeclampsia is one of the most common causes of maternal and fetal morbidities and mortalities [1]
The results showed that systolic, diastolic,and mean arterial blood pressures were significantly higher in mild pre-eclamptic untreated group when compared with the normal pregnant women, serum calcium levels in mild pre-eclamptic un-treated women were significantly lower when compared to normotensive pregnant controls(p
Which in turn resulted in enhance formation of factors such as endothelin, reactive oxygen species (ROS), thromboxane, and augmentation the sensitivity to vascular angiotensin II, In addition, preeclampsia is associated with the decreased formation of vasodilators such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostacyclin[11].These alterations in vascular function lead to hypertension but multi- organ dysfunction, especially in women with early onset preeclampsia[12]
Summary
Preeclampsia is one of the most common causes of maternal and fetal morbidities and mortalities [1]. Its incidence is 4-8% of pregnancies[2].The patho physiological mechanism is characterized by failure of the trophoblastic invasion of the spiral arteries, leading to mal adaptation of maternal spiral arterioles, which may be associated with an increased vascular resistance of the uterine artery and decreased perfusion of the placenta[3]. Modification of plasma calcium concentration leads to the alteration of blood pressure. The lowering of serum calcium and the increase of cellular calcium can cause an elevation of blood pressure in pre-eclamptic mothers. The modification of calcium metabolism during pregnancy could be one of the potential causes of preeclampsia[4,5]. The aims of the present study were to measure serum levels of calcium in mild pre-eclamptic pregnancy and compared with normal pregnancy and to investigate whether the oral supplementation of calcium decrease the incidence of pre-eclampsia, control the blood pressure, and affecting the plasma level of calcium
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Schedule a callMore From: Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ( P-ISSN: 1683 - 3597 , E-ISSN : 2521 - 3512)
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