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To the Editor: Worldwide, pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of maternal death, affecting 3% to 5% of all pregnancies.¹ Recently, elevated plasma concentrations of the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) have been linked to pre-eclampsia and impaired endothelial function.^2-5

Methods

To assess plasma ADMA concentration in pregnant women living in a high-risk area for pre-eclampsia, we sequentially enrolled, from November 2000 until February 2002, 160 women (67 women with pre-eclampsia [49 moderate and 19 severe cases] and 93 healthy pregnant controls) (Table 1) presenting in 4 Colombian study centers in a case-control study. All women were primigravid and younger than 25 years. Inclusion criteria for the pre-eclampsia group were: more than 20 weeks of gestation, blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or higher in 2 separate measurements, and proteinuria (0.3 g in 24 hours or a urine dipstick reading of 2+ for protein with no . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Renke Maas, MD
maas@uke.uni-hamburg.de

Rainer H. Böger, MD; Edzard Schwedhelm, PhD
AG Klinische Pharmakologie
Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie
Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf
Hamburg, Germany

Juan P. Casas, MD; Patricio López-Jaramillo, MD, PhD
Instituto Colombiano de Investigaciones Biomédicas
Bucaramanga
Colombia

Norma Serrano, MD, MSc; Luis A. Díaz, MD
Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga

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