Pre-eclampsia: a hypothesis for its etiology

A hypothesis is presented according to which the etiology of pregnancy-induced hypertension can be attributed to increased number of active uterine and arteriolar alpha-adrenergic myometrial receptors from pre-eclamptic patients in comparison with the alpha-adrenergic myometrial and arteriolar receptors from non-pre-eclamptic patients. This condition could result in the increased uterine wall irritability and the decreased uteroplacental blood flow in pre-eclampsia. It is suggested that progesterone fails to induce a reduction in alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in the pre-eclamptic patient. This will require pre-eclamptic patients and matched controls to test the hypothesis.