Elevated circulating homocyst(e)ine levels in placental vascular disease and associated pre-eclampsia

We examined the hypothesis that hyperhomocyst(e)inaemia in the maternal or fetal circulation is associated with placental vascular disease with either the maternal syndrome of pre-eclampsia and/or fetal syndrome of growth res triction. Maternal plasma homocyst(e)ine levels were significantly higher i n pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia, pregnancies with evidence of um bilical placental vascular disease, and pregnancies with both complications compared with the normal pregnancy group. In the fetal circulation mean pl asma homocyst(e)ine concentration was significantly higher in the preeclamp sia group compared with the normal group. The results suggest that hyperhom ocyst(e)inaemia may be a risk marker for placental vascular disease and mat ernal pre-eclampsia. The elevated fetal plasma homocyst(e)ine concentration s, found only in the group of pregnancies with pre-eclampsia in the absence of umbilical placental vascular disease, may be due to an effect of placen tal vascular disease on homocyst(e)ine transfer from the maternal to fetal circulation.