Enzyme Implicated In Preeclampsia.

The Wall Street Journal  (4/24, D4, Lukits, Subscription Publication) reports that according to a study  published online April 9 in the journal Hypertension, researchers have pinpointed an enzyme called thromboxane synthase, which appears to be associated with preeclampsia after studying blood-vessel tissue samples taken from 22 pregnant women with preeclampsia and 16 healthy expectant mothers. In addition, scientists reported that the gene TBXAS1 displayed higher activity in samples taken from women suffering from preeclampsia. The study authors theorized that blocking the action of TBXAS1 may lead to new ways of treating preeclampsia, a potentially fatal condition resulting in hypertension, blood clots and proteinuria.