FACTOR-V-LEIDEN, C-GREATER-THAN-T MTHFR POLYMORPHISM AND GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PREECLAMPSIA

We performed a case-controlled study to investigate whether the FV Lei den mutation and the C>T-677 polymorphism of the 5, 10 methylene tetra hydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) are associated with the occurrence of pr eeclampsia in 96 otherwise healthy preeclamptic women and 129 parous w omen as controls. FV Leiden carriers were 10 (10.5%) in cases and 3 (2 .3%) in controls (OR: 4.9, 95% CI: 1.3-18.3). MTHFR TT homozygotes wer e 28 (29.8%) in cases and 24 (18.6%) in the control group (OR: 1.8, 95 % CI 1.0-3.5). No difference in any of the polymorphisms was found bet ween proteinuric (n = 45) and non-proteinuric (n = 51) patients. Moreo ver, MTHFR polymorphism does not affect the association between FV Lei den and preeclampsia. In conclusion, FV Leiden mutation and MTHFR TT g enotype are associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia, suggesting that, during pregnancy, women carrying these gene variants are prone to develop such a complication.