Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome and one of the main causes of maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21 was introduced as a biomarker for detection of several diseases.
Objective: Evaluation of serum levels of the adipokine fibroblast growth factor-21 in patients with mild and severe preeclampsia and its correlation with other biochemical markers lipid profile and hemoglobin, in addition to blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), maternal and gestational ages.
Patients and methods: Eighty patients were included in this study divided into three groups: Group 1: twenty healthy pregnant women, group 2: thirty patients with mild preeclampsia, and group 3: thirty patients with severe preeclampsia. All groups were subjected to history, clinical examination, blood pressure measurement as well as estimation of hemoglobin, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol,HDL cholesterol and fibroblast growth factor 21.
Results: FGF 21 in severe group increased by 102.7 % and 58.6 % than control and mild groups respectively. No significant correlation between FGF 21 and each of TG, LDL/C, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in mild group. There was a significant positive correlation between fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), TG, HDL/C, systolic blood pressure in severe group, and  negative correlation with LDL/C.
Conclusions: Maternal FGF-21 serum concentration significantly increased in severe pre-eclampsia than mild and normal pregnancy.