The relationship between catecholamines levels in mother and fetus, and pathogenesis of pregnancy-induced hypertension

Objective To study the relationship between pregnancy-induced hypertension ( PIH) and catecholamine levels. Methods Catecholamines levels in maternal and fetal blood were determined in 116 patients with PIH and 40 normal control subjects using high performance liquid chromatography. The normal control subjects and PIH cases were selected from patients at term pregnancy receiving elective cesarean section. Results Plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels were significantly higher in patients with severe PIH than those in control subjects (P<0.05). Both patients and control subjects had higher NE levels in the umbilical artery blood than in the umbilical vein blood (P<0.05). NE levels in the umbilical artery blood were five times higher than those in the maternal blood. Conclusion The pathogenesis of PIH may relate to catecholamine concentrations in fetus.