Urinary podocytes may be marker for preeclampsia

The urinary excretion of viable podocytes, or glomerular epithelial cells, is an important marker for preeclampsia, according to a report in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Vesna D. Garovic, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues measured urinary podocyte excretion in 44 patients with preeclampsia and 23 normotensive control patients. They also measured blood levels of angiogenic factors that play a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia: s-Flt-1, PlGF, and endoglin.

The researchers identified urinary podocyte excretion in all 44 preeclampsia patients. They also found that podocyturia had a greater positive predictive value than any of the angiogenic factors for the diagnosis of preeclampsia.

Garovic VD, Wagner SJ, Turner ST, et al. Urinary podocyte excretion as a marker for preeclampsia. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;196: 320.e1-.e7.