Segregation of preeclampsia into early-onset, placental and late-onset, maternal subtypes along with the acknowledgement of the contribution of epigenetics in placentally expressed genes proved to be a key first step in the identification of essential gene variants associated with preeclampsia. Application of this insight to other populations and related pregnancy-induced syndromes, such as HELLP, and acknowledgment of the features shared between chromosomal loci associated with preeclampsia in different populations provide the rationale for new strategies for the identification of susceptibility genes and for new and more effective diagnostic strategies.