Alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is associated with increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. Alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (alpha-HBDH) is an enzyme that originates in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and can be detected in the serum. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of alpha-HBDH activity in ICP.

METHODS

The study included 100 women in their third trimester of pregnancy, 58 of whom had ICP (the study group) and 42 were healthy (the control group); another group, 26 nonpregnant women, was also analyzed to follow changes in alpha-HBDH activity during pregnancy. The concentrations or activity of fractionated bilirubin; bile acids; total alkaline phosphatase; alanine and aspartate aminotransferases; total high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; triglycerides; total protein; and alpha-HBDH were assessed.

RESULTS

The activity of serum alpha-HBDH is increased during the third trimester of pregnancies complicated by ICP, and it correlates positively with total and direct bilirubin concentration and total alkaline phosphatase activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase serum activity seems to be another biochemical parameter useful in the assessment of ICP severity.