Maternal blood plasma was obtained at approximately gestational week 18 and was measured for tryptophan, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, anthranilic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine, xanthurenic acid, and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid.

RESULTS:

Of the 2,936 pregnant women included in this study, 116 (4.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2-4.7) had preeclampsia subsequently diagnosed. The prevalence of preeclampsia was significantly higher among women with plasma Lonafarnib in vivo kynurenic acid concentrations greater than the 95th percentile than among those with concentrations in the 25th-75th percentile (11.0% compared with 3.3%, P<.001; adjusted odds ratio 3.6, 95% CI 1.9-6.8). This association was significantly stronger in women with prepregnancy body mass index of 25 or more (P for interaction=.03; 20.4%

compared with 4.2%; P<.001). No statistically significant associations of preeclampsia with other tryptophan metabolites were found.

CONCLUSION: Elevated maternal plasma kynurenic acid concentrations in early pregnancy are associated with a substantial increased risk of preeclampsia in obese women. (Obstet Gynecol 2012;119:1243-50) DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e318255004e”
“Background: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous amino acid similar to L-arginine and able to inhibit the enzyme endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). It is a factor of impaired nitric oxide (NO) AR-13324 in vitro synthesis. Serum levels of ADMA in chronic kidney 4SC-202 in vitro disease (CKD) increase

due to defective inactivation and excretion. High ADMA levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular damage. A linkage between ADMA levels and vascular calcifications of CKD can therefore be hypothesized. This study explores also a possible relation between ADMA and parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum levels, which are known to be linked to increased rates of cardiovascular death.

Methods: The study was carried out in 79 patients on hemodialysis (HD), mean age 59.25 +/- 12 years. In all patients, serum ADMA, PTH, Ca, P, bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), cholesterol and albumin were measured. In addition, the patients were subjected to multislice computed tomography for heart calcification evaluation.

Results: Correlation analysis of ADMA showed a significant relation with total and coronary calcium volumes, HD vintage, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, serum albumin, PTH, natural logarithm of PTH (LnPTH) and BALP. Multiple regression analysis selected HD vintage, albumin and PTH as predictive variables for coronary calcium volume, while ADMA was excluded. With LnPTH as dependent variable, ADMA, serum calcium and BMI were predictive variables with R(2) of 0.37. ADMA as dependent variable was also predicted by PTH, HD vintage, albumin and BMI.