A LIFE-threatening complication that strikes in 5 per cent of pregnancies was once dubbed the “disease of theories”. Now the discovery that mice missing a specific gene develop pre-eclampsia could lead to a treatment for women.
A major cause of premature births, pre-eclampsia can strike as early as 20 weeks into pregnancy and kill both mother and child. Women develop high blood pressure and their kidneys start to fail. The only treatment is to deliver the baby, often weeks early. Abnormal blood vessel growth, which starves the placenta of oxygen, has been blamed, but it is unclear what sets this…
