Preeclampsia at Term: Evidence of Disease Heterogeneity Based on the Profile of Circulating Cytokines and Angiogenic Factors

( Am J Obstet Gynecol . 2024;230:450.e1–450.e18. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2023.10.002) Preeclampsia (PEC) is one of the leading causes of perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality in the world. PEC, characterized by high blood pressure and organ damage in pregnancy, occurs in 3% to 7% of pregnancies, and has been linked to intravascular inflammation and an antiangiogenic state. Recent findings suggest that low performance of angiogenic biomarkers in women with PEC at term might be due to only about half of these women having an abnormal angiogenic profile, unlike 90% to 98% of those with early PEC. Early PEC is marked by severe intravascular inflammation, while the role of inflammation in late PEC is still being explored.