“…Although information is limited, evidence to date suggests that circulating concentrations of oxysterols and oxLDLs are increased in pregnant women with diabetes, obesity, pre-eclampsia and IUGR (Zwirska-Korczala et al, 2001;Bodzek et al, 2002;Uzun et al, 2005;Qiu et al, 2006;Kim et al, 2007;Endo et al, 2008;Leduc et al, 2011;Makedou et al, 2011), all conditions in which oxidative stress has been described. With respect to the actual levels documented, several clinical studies have reported normal plasma levels of oxysterols in the mid to high nanogram/milliliter range (Dzeletovic et al, 1995;Iuliano et al, 2003;Endo et al, 2008). However, levels of oxysterols generated de novo in sites of oxidative stress, such as atherosclerotic lesions, are known to increase by 90 -200-fold depending on the severity of the lesion (Garcia-Cruset et al, 2001).…”