Premium
URINARY β‐CORE hCG: SCREENING FOR ANEUPLOIDIES IN EARLY PREGNANCY (11–14 WEEKS' GESTATION)
Author(s) -
MACINTOSH M. C. M.,
NICOLAIDES K. H.,
NOBLE P.,
CHARD T.,
GUNN L.,
ILES R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0223(199705)17:5<401::aid-pd40>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - trisomy , urinary system , gestation , aneuploidy , creatinine , pregnancy , gynecology , amniocentesis , medicine , endocrinology , obstetrics , biology , fetus , prenatal diagnosis , chromosome , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Initial studies at 17–22 weeks' gestation evaluating urinary β‐core human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) as a marker for Down's syndrome had suggested that it may have more potential than its serum counterpart. This study measured maternal urinary β‐core‐hCG and creatinine at 11–14 weeks' gestation in a series of 26 aneuploidies (nine trisomy 21, five trisomy 18, four 45,X0, and eight others). The normal range for β‐core‐hCG and β‐core‐hCG/creatinine was derived from 198 normal singleton pregnancies. Trisomy 18 cases (n=5) had low maternal urinary β‐core‐hCG creatinine levels (median 0·35 MOM, range 0·08–0·82 MOM), whereas the other aneuploidies had no particular pattern; in particular, the trisomy 21 cases ( n =9) (median 1·16 MOM, range 0·3–4·74 MOM) did not differ significantly from 1 MOM. The findings imply that maternal urinary β‐core‐hCG is not as discriminating for Down's syndrome between 11 and 14 weeks as later on in pregnancy. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.