Thromboxane in Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

Objective : High thromboxane level evidence supports pivotal involvement of TxA2 in pathophysiology of pregnancy induced hypertension and provides a strong rationale for pursuing TxA2-blocking strategies in drug development. Methods : The stable metabolites of TXA2 (Thromboxane B) in maternal blood of 12 patients with mild preeclampsia, 4 patients with severe preeclampsia and 14 normal parturients were measured by competitive enzyme immunoassay. Results : TxB2 concentrations were not increased in mild preeclampsia (10112 pg/mL, n=12) as compared with normal pregnancy (15015 pg/mL, n=14), but they were significantly increased in severe preeclampsia (454102 pg/mL, p