Page number not for citation purposes 1 The role of cytokines as inflammatory mediators in preeclampsia

Introduction: this study is to determine the concentrations of IL-6, TNF α, and C reactive protein (CRP) in women with severe preeclampsia, and compare with those of gestational age- matched normotensive pregnant women and to correlate CRP levels with markers of organ damage in women with preeclampsia. Methods: this was a case control study of fifty women with severe preeclampsia and fifty gestational age matched pregnant women with normal blood pressure. The women were drawn from The Antenatal Clinic of The Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Severe pre eclampsia was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥110mmHg and ≥2+ of proteinuria. Afte