Arginine supplementation for improving maternal and neonatal outcomes in hypertensive disorder of pregnancy: A systematic review

Arginine supplementation for improving maternal and neonatal outcomes in hypertensive disorder of pregnancy: A systematic review

Por: Shunping Gui1, Jin Jia1,  Xiaoyu Niu, Yi Bai,  Heng Zou,  Juelin Deng y  Rong Zhou.  Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, March 2014 vol.

Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy is one of the most common perinatal diseases,1 accounting for about 10%-15% of pregnancies.  It can be defined as the onset of hypertension after the 20th week of pregnancy, with systolic and diastolic pressure higher than 140 and 90 mm Hg on at least two different occasions.4 However, the pathogenesis of preeclampsia remains elusive, and prevention through routine supplementations with calcium, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, or antioxidant vitamins are ineffective.5??–8 To date, it is certain that pregnancy has been reported to be a state of relative arginine deficiency. Arginine is one kind of essential amino acid, physiologically active in L-form, which is synthesized by endothelial cells and excreted with urine in vivo.  Arginine has been well recognized as a drug to treat variable diseases and symptoms, as well as a dietary tonic.