title: Maternal serum hormonal factors in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
abstract: The etiology of preeclampsia (PE) remains unknown. There are many different etiopathogenetic theories that have been proposed. One theory is based on immunologic factors that may be regulated by hormones. The primary objective of the present study was to review the main hormones that may be involved in the PE pathophysiology. The current literature has suggested the involvement of many different hormonal systems in the pathogenesis of PE such as cortisol, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, arginine vasopressin, epinephrine and norepinephrine, natriuretic atrial peptide, brain natriuretic peptide, and melatonin. These findings suggest the complexity of the pathophysiology of PE, which involves many different hormonal systems. In conclusion, PE is a systemic disease with all of the aforementioned hormones being involved in the mechanism of systemic arterial hypertension. This consequently plays an important role in the circadian characteristics of the maternal blood pressure in PE.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Obstetricians and gynecologists, family physicians.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  After completing this CME activity, physicians should be better able to understand the pathogenesis and pathophysiologicprocess involved in this disease, improve the treatment of the disease, educate medical students and residents with a better comprehension of the pathophysiologic process of the disease, stimulate new researches to establish the regulations of these hormones all together in the pathophysiologic process of preeclampsia, and develop new methods for screening and prevention preeclampsia based on maternal serum evaluations of hormonal levels.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Eugênia Maria Assunção
authors: EM
authors: Salustiano
authors: Joao Correia
authors: JC
authors: De Pinho
authors: Karli
authors: K
authors: Provost
authors: Rodrigo
authors: R
authors: Ruano
authors: Marcelo
authors: M
authors: Zugaib
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D062145:Maternal Serum Screening Tests; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006728:Hormones