HYDROGEN PEROXIDE LEVELS CORRELATE WITH SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE IN IRAQI WOMEN WITH PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION

Objective: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a major pregnancy complication that leads to maternal mortality. Here, we have scrutinized the correlation between serum levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in PIH.Methods: Serum samples were collected from 80 Iraqi women (40 women with PIH as patients group, 20 normotensive pregnant women as a positive control, and 20 normotensive non-pregnant women as a negative control) all groups were diagnosed clinically.Results: Serum of H2O2 and SOD levels was measured for all studied groups. Results showed that there were no significant variances in age and gestational age distribution between all studied groups. Furthermore, result showed that the serum level of SOD was a highly significant decrease in PIH in compared to control groups while H2O2 was a highly significant increase in PIH in compared with control groups. The obtained results also indicated that there was a negative correlation between SOD and H2O2 PIH women while no correlation in other control groups.Conclusion: Our study showed that there was a correlation between H2O2 levels and SOD in PIH. These imbalance lead to generate oxidative stress that could be responsible for starting and progression of pathological processes related to PIH and may be a critical determinant of diseases. Testing for SOD and H2O2 level can be a monitoring instrument for oxidative stress in early pregnancy, and they could help in the detection and consequently prevent future hypertension in pregnancy