Similarities Between Pre-Eclampsia and Atherosclerosis: A Protective Effect of Physical Exercise?

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2008

Authors

Luis Belo (Author) FFUP; Alice Santos Silva (Author) FFUP; Alexandre Quintanilha (Author) ICBAS; Irene Rebelo (Author) FFUP

Journal

Title: Current Medicinal Chemistry

Vol. 15 No. 22

Pages: 2223-2229

ISSN: 0929-8673

Publisher: Bentham Science

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 11 Citations

Scopus - 12 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-WEJ

DOI: 10.2174/092986708785747553

Abstract (EN): Pre-eclampsia ( PE), a characteristic hypertensive disorder of human pregnancy and a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity worldwide, shares some similarities with atherosclerosis, namely the involvement of oxidative stress and of endothelial dysfunction in their pathophysiologies, the presence of similar typical lesions and of common risk factors. Although it is widely accepted that regular physical exercise protects against cardiovascular events, few studies have addressed the impact of physical activity in reducing PE risk. In this paper, similarities between atherosclerosis and PE, involving pathogenic mechanisms, are described. This paper also reviews the studies performed until now that evaluated the impact of regular physical exercise (prenataly or during pregnancy) in reducing risk of PE. The potential mechanisms underlying physical activity as a prophylactic approach of PE, as observed with cardiovascular diseases, are discussed.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7