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Preeclampsia Pregnancy-Induced Syndrome

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Preeclampsia/Eclampsia is a complicated pregnancy-induced syndrome that usually occurs after the 20th week of gestation. Together with gestational hypertension, the continued presence of chronic hypertension, and the superimposition of preeclampsia on chronic hypertension, preeclampsia is one of the four categories of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, which affect 5%-10% of all pregnancies [1]. Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, as well as a major cause of adverse effects on fetal well-being both worldwide and in the US. Specifically, one third of severe maternal morbidities, 10%-15% maternal death in low-/middle- income countries and 15% of preterm birth is attributed to preeclampsia [1-3]. The diagnostic criteria of preeclampsia has been changing during the past two decades (Table 1). The most recent guidelines for hypertension during pregnancy by the American College of …show more content…

Pathologic laboratory study showed that renal biopsy samples from women with preeclampsia are different from the mechanistic damage from high blood pressure, which also implies that preeclampsia is a disorder beyond pregnancy-induced hypertension [14].
Acute pathological changes, such as organ hemorrhage and necrosis, to women with preeclampsia will revert to normal soon after delivery, which suggests that unique features of pregnancy lead to the change. Previous research supports that preeclampsia is the consequence of reduced placental perfusion, which is suspected to be caused by abnormalities in implantation and vascular remodeling. As a result, there is reduced blood flow to organs other than the placenta, thus causing hemorrhage and necrosis to multiple organ systems including liver, kidney, brain and intervillous space

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