[Preeclampsia and high serum levels of homocysteine].

Aim: Preeclampsia, a syndrome that can arise in the second half of pregnancy and that is characterised essentially by the presence, alone or variously combined, of three symptoms, oedemas, proteinuria and hypertension, has an incidence which varies between 5-7% and 25%. It seems that the element which determines the start and the continuation of the syndrome is located in the placenta and, in particular, in structural and functional changes of the trophoblast syncytium. In addition, the literature contains numerous studies that have evidenced endothelial damage as a key element to the pathogenetic mechanism in EPH-gestosis and recently an important role is attributed to a condition of hyperhomocysteinaemia.