Umbilical cord serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in normal pregnancies and in pregnancies complicated by preterm delivery or pre-eclampsia.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are implicated in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and in preterm delivery.

Methods: Umbilical cord serum VEGF levels from women with uncomplicated term pregnancies (control group, n=24), with pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia (n=21), or with preterm delivery (n=29) were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test, the t-test, and Smirnoff-Kolmogorov test.

Results: The mean VEGF concentration was significantly higher in the women with pre-eclampsia than in women from the control group (P<0.01). There were also increased but not significantly higher VEGF concentrations in the preterm delivery group compared with the control group (P=0.16).

Conclusions: Our study results support previous findings that raised umbilical cord serum VEGF levels might be correlated with the clinical development of pre-eclampsia and, in some circumstances, of preterm delivery.