Lipid peroxidation in eclampsia.

In order to investigate the extent of lipid peroxidation in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, a case-control study was designed. Eight eclamptic women were matched with women with severe pre-eclampsia (n = 8) and healthy pregnant controls (n = 8). Lipid peroxidation was measured by the malondialdehyde thiobarbituric acid reactive assay (MDA-TBAR) and expressed as nmol/ml. Both severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia groups had significantly higher MDA-TBAR levels than healthy pregnant women. Eclamptic women before delivery had highest MDA-TBAR levels which decreased after delivery.