Antioxidant capacity in women with Preeclampsia

Aim: Preeclampsia (PE) remains a frequent and potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy. Free radical damage has been implicated in the pathophysiology of this condition. In this study, we aimed to measure the antioxidant capacity in plasma samples from normotensive and pregnant women to evaluate their antioxidant status using three different measurement methods. Methods: the study was conducted on the sample of 28 women with PE and 29 women with normotensive pregnancies. The levels of superoxide dismutase, hydroxyl and peroxyl radical antioxidant capacity were measured in the two groups. Results: statistically significant differences (determined using Mann-Whitney's test) were noted between the normotensive and the PE groups in the levels of hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity (p<0,001). There was a negative correlation between the levels of systemic blood pressure and the hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity values. Also, the mean levels of superoxide dismutase were impressively higher in the PE group. Conclusions: we found significant increase in antioxidant capacity levels in two out of three methods used in the case of women with PE. We suggest that there is a mobilization of endogenous antioxidants during PE but it might happen just to a certain extent as the levels of antioxidant power diminish with the severity of PE.