Predictive biomarkers of pre-eclampsia and effectiveness of preventative interventions for the disease.
BACKGROUND
Pre-eclampsia (PE) is one of the most common pregnancy complication characterized by placental and maternal vascular dysfunction. It affects about 3 - 8% of women during the second half of pregnancy and represents one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The etiology of PE largely remains unknown.


METHODS
PE is considered a syndrome with multisystem involvement, so the ideal predictive test for it should utilize a combination of many predictors. Measurement in early pregnancy of a variety of biophysical and biochemical markers implicated in the pathophysiology of PE associated with clinical risk factors has been proposed to predict the development of the syndrome, thereby mitigating an adverse outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
The identification of reliable indicators is a clinically relevant issue that could result in early therapeutic intervention and leading to the prevention of maternal and fetal injuries before the manifestation of clinical signs. Many factors complicate the prevention of PE cases. Most are attributed to unknown etiology, the low predictive value of current screening tests and the several presentations of the disease. Although preventative treatments have been studied extensively, an effective intervention to avoid the development of PE has not yet been discovered.
San Raffaele Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Via Olgettina 60, Milan 20132 , Italy.
Annalisa
A
Inversetti
Maddalena
M
Smid
Massimo
M
Candiani
Maurizio
M
Ferrari
Silvia
S
Galbiati
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
D015415:Biomarkers
pre-eclampsia; predictive biomarkers; preventative interventions