Objective: To determine the changes of serum free amino acids and ammonia in pregnant women with severe pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and to evaluate its significance.
Methods: 16 kinds of free amino acids and ammonia in maternal serum were measured by auto-amino acid-analyzor in 33 cases with severe PIH and 29 normal pregnancies. Haematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (Hb) in some of the samples were also determined. The correlation between HCT, Hb and the total free amino acid were studied.
Results: The group with PIH showed the following changes: amino acidemia and ammonemia; high aromatic amino acidemia; high threonine, arginine, glycine, cystine and glutamic acidemia. The level of glutamic acid was obviously higher in the eclampsia patients than that in the preeclampsia ones. There existed a negative correlation between the quantities of the total amino acid and HCT and Hb in PIH group.
Conclusion: There were amino acidemia and ammonemia in PIH patients. The high levels of some amino acids might be related with the pathogenesis of hypertension and the cerebral symptoms.