Internal medicine

Fetus

Placenta

Disease

Bioinformatics

Biology

Obstetrics

Preeclampsia

Proteinuria

Gestational hypertension

Kidney

Eclampsia

Pregnancy

Gestation

Genetics

Medicine

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Preeclampsia, one of the most enigmatic complications of pregnancy, is considered a pregnancy-specific disorder caused by the placenta and cured only by delivery. This article traces the condition from its origins—once thought to be a disease of the central nervous system, recognized by the occurrence of seizures (ie, eclampsia)—to the present time when preeclampsia is conceptualized primarily as a vascular disorder. We review the epidemiologic data that led to the recommendation to use diastolic hypertension and proteinuria as diagnostic criteria, as their combined presence was associated with an increased risk of fetal death and the birth of small-for-gestational-age neonates.

Preeclampsia and eclampsia: the conceptual evolution of a syndrome