Preeclampsia and eclampsia are hypertensive disorders of pregnancy associated with abnormal placental vascular development. The systemic angiogenic imbalance, endothelial dysfunction and proinflammatory state caused by abnormal placental development results in abnormalities in renal, hepatic, pulmonary and neurologic function. The most devastating symptoms are intracranial hemorrhage and seizures, which are the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality globally. Several preeclampsia candidate genes have been reported.
