Maternal Serum Ischemia-Modified Albumin: A Biomarker to Distinguish Between Normal Pregnancy and Preeclampsia?

Objective: To determine whether a biological marker of ischemia, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), alone or normalized to albumin serum concentration, was modified during the course of pregnancy and so could be used for discrimination between normal pregnancy and preeclampsia. Methods: Serum IMA concentrations and IMA to serum albumin ratio (IMA/alb) were compared in 22 nonpregnant healthy women (NP), 19 healthy pregnant women (HP) and 20 pre-eclamptic women (PE). Influence of age of gestation on these markers was also investigated. Results: IMA to albumin ratio (IMA/alb) was significantly increased in HP compared with NP (IMA/alb. HP: 2.60 ± 0.38 kU/g and IMA/alb. NP: 2.10 ± 0.22 kU/g; p < 0.05). Both IMA and IMA/alb were significantly elevated during PE compared with HP (IMA HP: 98.4 ± 9.2 kU/l and IMA PE 116.9 ± 12.3 kU/l, p < 0.001; IMA/alb HP: 2.60 ± 0.38 kU/g and IMA/alb PE: 3.79 ± 0.75 kU/g p < 0.001)). Both IMA and IMA/alb were increased in PE up to delivery. No correlation could be demonstrated be...