BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Revisiting adrenomedullin in preeclampsia

May 23, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

A North Carolina team has shown that fetal deficiency in adrenomedullin resulted in mouse placental abnormalities similar to those found in preeclampsia, thereby underscoring adrenomedullin's potential as a marker for the indication.1 Future studies will need to replicate the findings in other animal models and determine whether low adrenomedullin levels are found in all preeclampsia cases or just a subset.

preeclampsia involves hypertension and proteinuria and occurs in about 5% of pregnant women. The condition can lead to life-threatening seizures (eclampsia). preeclampsia is thought to involve insufficient remodeling of maternal uterine spiral arteries, which are part of the uteroplacental vasculature that changes to accommodate the need for low-resistance, high-capacity blood flow to the fetus...