Treatments for preeclampsia that do not affect normal placental or fetal development

We discovered that a small signalling molecule called interleukin (IL) 11 is abnormally increased in women who go on to develop the life threatening severe pregnancy disorder preeclampsia. We propose that iIL11 can be therapeutically targeted as a treatment option. This study demonstrates that administering an IL11 inhibitor will likely not affect normal placental or fetal development, a very important consideration for administering therapeutics during pregnancy. It now paves the way to develop specific inhibitors as a novel treatment option for a disorder where the only cure is the delivery of the baby, often prematurely.