Also some day in summer of 1970 I have been at a loss regarding to how
to treat severe preeclampsia patients. I happened to be focused on some
sentence of Japanese book on steroid hormones. The sentence mentioned
that injection of sex steroid (estradiol plus progesterone ) was effective in
alleviation of severe preeclampsia before world war
in USA.

Since I was fascinated with this evidence, I have searched the original
manuscript on this interesting mentioning. It was difficult to find this
manuscript. However I could find this article at the library of Tokyo University.
The article is as follows: since the levels of both steroids in urine with severe
preeclampsia patients, Dr. Smith and Smith in Boston Lying in Hospital treated
using both steroids by intramuscular injection with severe preeclampsia patients
and they found their treatment was effective in alleviation of severe
preeclampsia(1). At that time it was known that urinary estrogen and
progesterone levels with severe preeclampsia patients was much lower than
normal pregnant women.

The theory by Dr. Smith and Smith on their treatment was very simple:

Decreased both hormones in severe preeclampsia should be supplied.


1.Smith GVS, Smith OW. Estrogen and progestin metabolism in pregnancy . The effect of hormone administration in preeclampsia. J Clin Endocrinol 1941;1:477-484.