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Amniotic fluid gel cholinesterase density ratios in fetal open defects of the neural tube and ventral wall
Author(s) -
GOLDFINE CHRISTINA,
MILLER WAYNE A.,
HADDOW JAMES E.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1983.tb08616.x
Subject(s) - neural tube , acetylcholinesterase , amniotic fluid , anencephaly , fetus , anatomy , cholinesterase , biology , embryo , andrology , chemistry , medicine , endocrinology , pregnancy , biochemistry , enzyme , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary. Densitometry was used to measure gel acetyl‐ and pseudo‐cholinesterase bands in a selection of amniotic fluid samples yielding positive α‐fetoprotein and positive gel acetylcholinesterase results. The samples were associated with the following conditions: 28 anencephaly (10 stained with fetal blood), 20 open spina bifida (3 stained with fetal blood), 10 open ventral‐wall defects (2 stained with fetal blood) and 5 unaffected pregnancies (all stained with fetal blood). In samples not visibly stained with fetal blood, the ratio of the acetylcholinesterase density to the pseudo‐cholinesterase density distinguished between open ventral‐wall defects and open neural‐tube defects: the former group all had values less than 0.13, while the latter all had values greater than that. In amniotic fluid samples which were stained with fetal blood the acetylcholinesterase/pseudo‐cholinesterase ratio did not offer useful diagnostic information; results from unaffected pregnancies overlapped with those from pregnancies with both ventral‐wall defects and open neural‐tube defects.