Effect of pre-eclampsia on plasma cholinesterase activity.

Plasma cholinesterase (PCHE) activity was determined using a colorimetric method in 11 healthy non-pregnant women, 11 healthy pregnant women at term, and 11 pre-eclamptic pregnant women at term. The mean plasma cholinesterase activities for healthy non-pregnant women, healthy pregnant women and pre-eclamptic pregnant women were 438 +/- 81,257 +/- 25 and 173 +/- 18 units . ml-1, respectively. Our data suggest that there is a significant reduction in plasma cholinesterase activity in preeclamptic pregnant women when compared to healthy non-pregnant (p less than 0.001) and healthy pregnant women (p less than 0.001).