Renal function in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) is a disorder specific to pregnancy and the pathological changes it causes regress after delivery. Reversible hyperuricaemia is the most characteristic bio- chemical feature of preeclampsia, first noted nearly 60 years ago by Slemons and Bogert (1917). More recently, Chesley and Williams have shown that the high plasma urate is the result of renal tubular urate retention occurring independently of decreases in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Why renal tubular function should alter is not known but clinical and pathological studies clearly demonstrate that the degree of hyperuricaemia in preeclampsia reflects the severity of the disorder (Redman et al, 1976),