Can first trimester placental biomarkers copeptin and PP13 predict preeclampsia in advanced age nulliparous women?

Abstract

Preeclampsia (PE) affects approximately 3% of all pregnancies and it is still a major cause of adverse perinatal outcome. PE is a multisystem pregnancy related disorder of unknown aetiology with a progressive course and with no established therapy. In recent times excessive research was conducted on early screening for PE with an aim to reduce the prevalence of the disease with early medical treatment starting from the first trimester of pregnancy in the high-risk group. The aim of this study is to detect if the first trimester serum copeptin and PP13 can predict preeclampsia in advanced age nulliparous women. These are the preliminary results of an ongoing prospective study that will include 400 pregnant women undergoing first trimester aneuploidy screening at the Department for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb. Maternal risk factors used as inclusion criteria in this study were: nulliparity and age >35. Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire regarding personal and medical information. Blood samples were collected and maternal serum PP13 and copeptin levels were measured. Following the inclusion criteria, we analysed the records of 40 women who gave birth to this date. Three patients (7.5%) developed preeclampsia and eight (20%) had gestational hypertension (GH). All PE patients had elevated plasma copeptin. Our preliminary data suggests that early screening for PE at 11-13 weeks of gestation using biomarkers copeptin and PP-13, in combination with maternal risk factors, is by far the most promising method for early detection of PE in advanced age nulliparous women.