Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the presence of oxidative stress (OS) in pregnant women with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in the first trimester by evaluating thiol/disulphide homeostasis. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 31 pregnant women with a diagnosis of FMF, between 11(0) and 13(6) weeks of gestation, were compared with 51 healthy pregnant controls at the same gestational weeks. A recently defined method was used to measure plasma native thiol, total thiol and disulphide levels. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups in terms of maternal age, body mass index and numbers of gravida and parity. Antenatal complications (45.2% vs. 9.8%, P = 0.001) and primary caesarean section (22.6% vs. 5.9%, P = 0.037) were higher in the FMF group. Pregnant women with FMF had significantly lower first trimester serum levels of native thiol (297.5 μmol/l (153.2-441.8) vs. 366.1 μmol/l (288.7-432.4), P = 0.000), total thiol (327.2 μmol/l (171.0-471.0) vs. 389.9 μmol/l (317.1-449.8), P = 0.000) and higher levels of disulphide (14.2 ± 4.5 μmol/l vs. 12.4 ± 3.4 μmol/l, P = 0.045). No differences were found in these parameters among FMF patients with and without antenatal complications. CONCLUSIONS: The main outcome demonstrates a relation between OS and pregnant women with FMF in the first trimester of gestation. OS in the first trimester may be a major aetiological factor of unfavourable pregancy outcomes in this group of patients.