Abstract
Preeclampsia/eclampsia remains a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity worldwide, most devastating in developing countries. It also remains a leading cause of prematurity, as delivery is currently the only way to successfully treat the disorder. Preeclampsia requires expert care to avoid adverse outcomes for both fetus and mother and thus the ability to predict preeclampsia would be of great value, permitting the caregiver to identify women at risk and permit closer surveillance, or early referral when necessary. The latter is especially relevant in developing nations where tertiary care is limited and often at great distance from the gravidas home. In this respect, an extensive systematic review published in 2004 found no single test reliable to predict preeclampsia. However, the systemic review did not include the predictive value of combinations of tests, as well as promising recent advances regarding angiogenic proteins in the pathophysiology and prediction of preeclampsia. This review will summarize the role of angiogenic proteins measurable in the maternal circulation that relate to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia phenotypes and therefore have the potential for becoming reliable predictors of preeclampsia many weeks prior to overt disease.
Disclosures
SAK is listed as a coinventor on multiple patents filed by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for the use of angiogenic proteins for the diagnosis and therapy of preeclampsia. SAK is a consultant to Johnson & Johnson, Beckman Coulter and Abbott Diagnostics.