Hypertension in Pregnancy, 27:374–386, 2008 Copyright © Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. ISSN: 1064-1955 print / 1525-6065 online DOI: 10.1080/10641950802000968 LHIP 1064-1955 1525-6065 Hypertension in Pregnancy, Vol. 27, No. 3, Jun 2008: pp. 0–0 Hypertension in Pregnancy Advanced Glycation End Products in Pregnancies Complicated with Diabetes Mellitus or Preeclampsia Advanced Glycation End Products Harsem et al. Nina K. Harsem, 1 Kristin Braekke, 2 Tale Torjussen, 2 Kristian Hanssen, 4 and Anne Cathrine Staff 1,3 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway 2 Department of Pediatrics Intensive Care, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway 3 Ulleval University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo 4 Department of Medicine, Aker University Hospital, Norway Objective: Preeclampsia (PE) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are associated with oxidative stress. DM is complicated with formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are associated with oxidative stress. We hypothesized that elevated serum AGE would be found in pregnancies complicated by PE or DM. Methods: Circulating AGEs, 8-isoprostane, vitamin E, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed from study patients. Results: Serum AGE was elevated both in patients with type 1 DM and ges- tational DM, but not in PE, compared with controls. 8-isoprostane was elevated in patients with type 1 DM and PE compared with controls. Conclusion: AGEs and 8- isoprostane are not elevated in parallel in pregnancies complicated with PE or DM, suggesting biological heterogeneity. Keywords Diabetes mellitus, Pregnancy, Preeclampsia, AGE, Oxidative stress. INTRODUCTION Preeclampsia and diabetes mellitus share many pathophysiological features, including endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation (1–3). Both pregestational diabetes and gestational diabetes are associated with a two- to fourfold increased risk for developing preeclampsia in pregnancy (4). Preeclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy charac- terized by hypertension and proteinuria developing in the second half of the pregnancy (5). The etiology of preeclampsia remains unknown, but circulating Address correspondence to Nina K. Harsem, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: niem@uus.no Hypertens Pregnancy Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Statens helsetilsyn on 05/13/14 For personal use only.