Evaluation of Serum Galectin- 3 Levels in Preeclampsia at Term

Abstract

Background
Pre-eclampsia is a disorder of vascular endothelial dysfunction and vasospasm that occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy and may occur up to 4– 6 weeks after pregnancy.  It is defined clinically by hypertension and proteinuria with or without pathological edema. Galectin-3 is expressed in all types of immune cells and organs in human tissues and plays an important  role  in  many  biological  processes  such  as  inflammatory responses, fibroids, intercellular adhesion, angiogenesis, apoptosis and cell differentiation.
Aim of study
To evaluate Galectin-3 level in pre-eclampsia and to determine the association with severity of pre-eclampsia.
Patients and methods
A case-control study was conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Azadi Teaching Hospital / Kirkuk/ Iraq. The duration of study was eight months from 1st of February till 1st of October 2021.The study involved 90 patients, 60 preeclamptic women, and 30 (control group) with gestational age (37- 40). Patients were admitted to the hospital for following up their blood pressure, urine test for albumin, renal function test, liver function test were done, between 37-40 weeks gestational age of the pregnancy.
Results
Galectin-3 was significantly higher among pregnant women with severe preeclampsia in comparison to mild pre-eclampsia and control groups (p=0.0001),  while  no  significant  correlation  in  the  mean  Galectin-3 between normal and mild preeclampsia (P=0.92).  
Conclusion: Serum Galectin- 3 is a marker for diagnosis of pre-eclampsia and its severity.