Pre-eclampsia is a disease that affects about 3% of pregnancies and represents the main cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity (World Health Organization, 2005).

The ethiogenesis of this clinical condition appears to be attributable to early placentation defects (8-18 weeks), although prodromal symptoms appear in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.
Risk factors for pre-eclamptic syndrome have been clearly identified (familiarity, primiparity, ethnic origin, chronic hypertension, etc.)) in numerous epidemiological studies.

In recent years, new research has shown the usefulness of integrating anamnestic data with the evaluation of maternal biophysical parameters (blood pressure, body mass index, pulsatility index of the uterine arteries) and the dosage of some biochemical analytes (PAPP-A and PlGF) of placental origin from maternal blood in the 1st trimester of pregnancy, to derive a statistical risk that a pregnancy may develop the syndromic picture of early pre-eclampsia in its continuation.
Prudent estimates, drawn from numerous clinical triases, estimate the overall sensitivity of combined screening to be 90%.

The possibility of early detection of pregnancies at risk of pre-eclampsia represents in itself an important clinical opportunity to plan adequate maternal-fetal monitoring, prevent the onset of serious obstetric complications and establish pharmacological treatments (aspirin) capable of improving the processes of

placentation and reduce the prevalence of the disease.

Biological sample for the screening of pre-eclampsia: Maternal serum

Gestational period indicated: (11 weeks +0 days up to 13 weeks +6 days) .