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Trophoblast function in normal and preeclamptic pregnancy

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2010

James C Cross
James C Cross*
Affiliation:
Mount Sinai Hospital and Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Canada
*
James Cross, Program in Development and Fetal Health, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X5, Canada.
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Extract

Preeclampsia (PE) is a common disease of pregnancy that affects women particularly in their first pregnancies. Current estimates suggest that between 7 and 10% of pregnancies may be complicated by PE. Despite considerable research and medical efforts, the incidence of the disease has not changed substantially in the last century. In severe cases the disease may be life-threatening and is associated with high neonatal mortality and morbidity. Furthermore, therapy is often ineffective and at best treats the disease symptoms rather than the aetiology. One reason for the lack of progress may be that while the disease is generally agreed by most to be due to abnormal implantation and development of the placenta (events which happen in the first trimester) most research efforts have focused on managing and understanding the maternal disease. Since the disease typically appears in the last trimester, many weeks after the likely start of the pathology, it has been difficult to understand the progression of events. However, this picture has improved recently. The purpose here is to review how placental development is affected in PE and describe new insights into the causes. It is hoped that an understanding of the pathogenesis of the placental defects in PE will lead to new efforts towards early diagnosis, before the onset of clinical symptoms, as well as new treatments for these lesions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Fetal and Maternal Medicine Review , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , May 1996 , pp. 57 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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