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International audience; BACKGROUND: Thrombophilias are common disorders that increase the risk of pregnancy-associated venous thromboembolism and pregnancy loss and can also increase the risk of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications (severe pre-eclampsia, small-for-gestational-age infants, and placental abruption). We postulated that antepartum dalteparin would reduce these complications in pregnant women with thrombophilia. METHODS: In this open-label randomised trial undertaken in 36 tertiary care centres in five countries, we enrolled consenting pregnant women with thrombophilia at increased risk of venous thromboembolism or with previous placenta-mediated pregnancy complications. Eligible participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either antepartum prophylactic dose dalteparin (5000 international units once daily up to 20 weeks' gestation, and twice daily thereafter until at least 37 weeks' gestation) or to no antepartum dalteparin (control group). Randomisation was done by a web-based randomisation system, and was stratified by country and gestational age at randomisation day with a permuted block design (block sizes 4 and 8). At randomisation, site pharmacists (or delegates) received a randomisation number and treatment allocation (by fax and/or e-mail) from the central web randomisation system and then dispensed study drug to the local coordinator. Patients and study personnel were not masked to treatment assignment, but the outcome adjudicators were masked. The primary composite outcome was independently adjudicated severe or early-onset pre-eclampsia, small-for-gestational-age infant (birthweight

Background —At one end of the clinical spectrum of coronary artery disease (CAD) are subjects who have had repeated acute ischemic events, and at the other end are those with long-standing angina who have never been unstable. This study tests the hypothesis that a specific biological profile can distinguish these 2 extreme groups and predict acute coronary events. Methods and Results —Blood levels of lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, tissue plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor were compared in 3 groups of 50 subjects each: (1) those with previous multiple acute coronary events, (2) age-matched subjects with ≥3 years of stable angina and no prior acute coronary events, and (3) matched controls without evidence of atherosclerotic disease and a normal coronary angiogram. All subjects were followed for 4.0 years. Lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, tissue plasminogen activator, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were similar in both CAD groups and significantly higher than in the control group. However, compared with subjects with long-standing stable angina, those with previous multiple coronary events had higher values of CRP (5.7±5.4 versus 3.0±5.2 mg/L, P =0.012), fibrinogen (3.38±0.75 versus 2.92±0.64 g/L, P =0.001), and von Willebrand factor (1.60±0.55 versus 1.25±0.36 U/mL, P =0.0003). On follow-up, myocardial infarction and unstable angina occurred in 42% of the group with multiple events, 4% of the stable angina group ( P P P =0.002). A baseline CRP >3.5 mg/L had a relative risk of 7.6 (2.6 to 21.7, P =0.0002) for subsequent acute events. Conclusions —An inflammatory biological profile distinguished patients with previous multiple acute coronary events from those with long-standing stable angina and predicted acute coronary instability.

Background —Increased levels of markers of hemostasis may assist in the determination of the extent of carotid occlusive disease and the identification of neurologically intact individuals at increased risk of ischemic events. Methods —We conducted a prospective study of 304 subjects, including 82 with a recent (≤7 days) transient ischemic attack (TIA), 157 asymptomatic individuals with a cervical bruit, and 65 control subjects. Baseline evaluation included a neurological assessment, ECG, cervical ultrasonography, and cerebral CT and/or MRI. Levels of markers of coagulation and fibrinolytic activity were also determined. Results were analyzed in relation to the degree of carotid disease and the subsequent occurrence of cerebral and cardiac ischemic events. Results —Over a mean follow-up period of 2.8 years (SD, 1.3 years), 114 ischemic events occurred. Survival analyses showed that prothrombin fragment 1.2 (F 1.2 ) was a predictor of time to cerebral and cardiac ischemic events in the combined TIA and asymptomatic bruit group (relative risk [RR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.81) as well as in the asymptomatic bruit group separately (RR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.53). In the TIA group, both F 1.2 (RR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.19 to 4.68) and severe (≥80%) carotid stenosis (RR, 3.53; 95% CI, 1.19 to 10.51) were predictive of time to ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death. Conclusions —In patients with TIAs and in asymptomatic individuals with cervical bruits, F 1.2 levels were found to be independent predictors of subsequent cerebral and cardiac ischemic events. Our results are consistent with an active role of the coagulation system through upregulation of thrombin in carotid disease progression and in the pathogenesis of ischemic events in patients at risk.