This project is a thorough exploration of the biochemical and molecular signaling involved in preeclampsia and hypertension in pregnancy. It includes a detailed and documented review of the literature which is used to develop insight into future potential pharmacologic treatments for this complex disorder.

There has been virtually no change for three decades in the treatment of hypertension in pregnancy and it's many namesakes: Pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, superimposed preeclampsia, gestosis, etc. all of which shall be referred to in the rest of this article as PIH. In part this is because of an incomplete understanding of its physiology and pathophysiology, partly because the only widely accepted treatment, labetalol, does not work well and causes fetal growth restriction. This is a short review of what we know about PIH and normal placental physiology, what we surmise about the disease process and possible future pharmacologic interventions based on this knowledge, as well as new methods of determining fetal in utero health.