Association of serum relaxin with striae gravidarum in pregnant women

Aims The cause of striae gravidarum is still unclear. The study objective was to test the hypothesis that relaxin is involved in the process of striae gravidarum appearance during pregnancy. Methods A prospective observational study in 32 pregnant women. Participants were observed at 12th, 24th and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of gynecology and obstetrics 2011-02, Vol.283 (2), p.219-222
Main Authors: Lurie, Samuel, Matas, Zippora, Fux, Asora, Golan, Abraham, Sadan, Oscar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Body Mass Index
Endocrinology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Gynecology
Human Genetics
Humans
Materno-fetal Medicine
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications - blood
Relaxin - blood
Risk Factors
Striae Distensae - blood
Weight Gain
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Summary:Aims The cause of striae gravidarum is still unclear. The study objective was to test the hypothesis that relaxin is involved in the process of striae gravidarum appearance during pregnancy. Methods A prospective observational study in 32 pregnant women. Participants were observed at 12th, 24th and 36th gestational week. During each session, striae scoring was assessed and blood for relaxin estimation was withdrawn. The striae assessment was done according to Davey score. Serum relaxin was estimated using Relaxin ELISA kit (Immunodiagnostic AG, Bensheim, Germany). Results Serum relaxin levels decreased as the pregnancy advanced (585.9 ± 295.1, 424.2 ± 253.8, 402.1 ± 221.2 pg/ml, respectively) but this decrease did not attain statistical significance. Pregnant women with striae gravidarum had lower serum relaxin levels compared to those without striae gravidarum at 36th gestational weeks, 330.8 ± 175.2 vs 493.8 ± 245.8 pg/ml ( P  = 0.037), respectively. The severity of striae gravidarum during pregnancy did not correlate with serum relaxin levels. Conclusion Lower serum relaxin levels could contribute to the occurrence of striae gravidarum during pregnancy through decreased elasticity of the connective tissue.
ISSN:0932-0067
1432-0711
DOI:10.1007/s00404-009-1332-5