الفهرس 
PreeclampsiaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Preeclampsia, previously known as toxemia of pregnancy, is one of the main causes of maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. It is estimated that preeclampsia affects 3–5% of pregnancies with high annual mortality rate from preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders. The maternal and perinatal morbidities and mortalities are increased in women who develop the disorder before 33 weeks‟ gestation, in those with pre-existing medical disorders and in those from developing countries.
Von Willebrand Factor (vWF) is a large complex multimeric adhesive plasma glycoprotein that was discovered in 1924 by Erik von Willebrand. vWF was first purified in the early 1970s and its complete sequence was reported in 1986. There has seen considerable progress in understanding vWF assembly and the structural requirements for its function. It is found in plasma, platelet alpha granules and subendothelial connective tissue. It plays an important role in clotting cascade. vWF promotes platelet adhesion to thrombogenic surfaces as well as platelet-to-platelet cohesion during thrombus formation. In addition, it is the carrier for FVIII in plasma protecting it from proteolytic degradation.
The vWF gene is highly polymorphic and SNPs of the coding and promotor sequences have been found to influence the levels of vWF in the circulation. Because of the dual function of vWF in hemostasis, its gene is considered as a good candidate for thrombotic diseases.