No other complication of pregnancy is so common and dangerous, both to mother and baby, as pre-eclampsia. Yet its cause is unknown and treatment depends on induced delivery to prevent its progression. It is difficult to predict and sometimes even to diagnose accurately. With support from Action Research these researchers have discovered that normal pregnancy excites an intense inflammatory response in the mother. Pre-eclampsia arises when the response is excessive. In this new project they will investigate what stimulates this inflammatory response and how it might run out of control. The added knowledge should enable prediction, diagnosis and treatment to be improved.