[Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a member of the proangiogenic VEGF-family; it is mainly produced by throphoblast cells. During the last years numerous studies have shown that circulating PlGF-level in maternal plasma is decreased and its suluble receptor sFlt-1 shows increased expression. In the present study we examined the prognostic accuracy of Alere Triage® PlGF-Assay in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its relation with the length of pregnancy. 130 pregnant women were involved in this case-control study (PE: 23, HELLP-syndrome: 20, superimposed praeeclampsia: 17, chronic hypertension: 25, gestational hypertension: 18 and normal control: 27). Blood draw occured between the 22nd and 34th gestational week. PlGF levels were measured by the Alere Triage® PlGF Assay using samples from the maternal plasma. The plasma PlGF-levels of women whose pregnancies were complicated by hypertensive disorders were significantnormotoly lower compared to those who had uncomplicated pregnancies and the decrease were greater in those patients who delivered before the 35th gestational week. The PlGF-test was positive in 93,7% of those women who delivered before the 35th gestational week and in 90,5% of those who delivered before the 37. gestational week. The vast majority of preeclamptic (PE: 95,7%, SIPE: 82,4%) and HELLP-syndrome (95%) patients had positive PlGF tests, the 60% of the chronic hypertension and the 44,4% of the gestational hypertension patients have also shown positive results. The main conclusion of this study is that the PlGF levels using maternal plasma are lower in those pregnancies which are complicated by hypertension and show strong correlation with the severity of the hypertensive disorder. We perceived high sensitivity values in detecting preeclampsia, HELLP-syndrome and superimposed preeclampsia. In the future we may use this method to separate high risk women for hypertensive disorders and it may improve the perinatal outcome]

[Preeclampsia remains one of the most serious gestational diseases. Accumulating data support the opinion that the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (gestational hypertension + organ dysfunction) is not homogenous. The early-onset (onset of clinical phase before the 34th gestational week) type is a placental disease in which hypertension and organ dysfunctions are due to vasoconstriction and microthrombosis. The late-onset form is a maternal disease in which water retention - in connection with obesity - beyond the given vascular capacity may be an important progenitor of the clinical signs. These considerations should also influence the strategy of the treatment. ]

[The well-known gap bet­ween stroke mortality of Eastern and Western Euro­pean countries may reflect the effect of socioeconomic diffe­rences. Such a gap may be present between neighborhoods of different wealth within one city. We set forth to compare age distribution, incidence, case fatality, mortality, and risk factor profile of stroke patients of the poorest (District 8) and wealthiest (District 12) districts of Budapest. We synthesize the results of our former comparative epidemiological investigations focusing on the association of socioeconomic background and features of stroke in two districts of the capital city of Hungary. The “Budapest District 8–12 project” pointed out the younger age of stroke patients of the poorer district, and established that the prevalence of smoking, alcohol-consumption, and untreated hypertension is also higher in District 8. The “Six Years in Two Districts” project involving 4779 patients with a 10-year follow-up revealed higher incidence, case fatality and mortality of stroke in the less wealthy district. The younger patients of the poorer region show higher risk-factor prevalence, die younger and their fatality grows faster during long-term follow-up. The higher prevalence of risk factors and the higher fatality of the younger age groups in the socioeconomically deprived district reflect the higher vulnerability of the population in District 8. The missing link between poverty and stroke outcome seems to be lifestyle risk-factors and lack of adherence to primary preventive efforts. Public health campaigns on stroke prevention should focus on the young generation of socioeconomi­cally deprived neighborhoods. ]