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Midpregnancy plasma zinc in normal and growth retarded fetuses—a preliminary study
Author(s) -
NASRAT HASSAN,
BLOXAM DAVID,
NICOLINI UMBERTO,
WILLIAMS NORMAN,
TANNIRANDORN YUEN,
NICOLAIDES PETER,
ROEDECK CHARLES H.
Publication year - 1992
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.1471-0528.1992.tb13847.x
Subject(s) - fetus , gestation , zinc , endocrinology , medicine , blood sampling , pregnancy , zinc deficiency (plant disorder) , blood plasma , obstetrics , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , genetics
Objective To determine plasma zinc concentrations in normally and abnormally growing fetuses. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Fetal Medicine Unit, Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital. Subjects 53 pregnant women attending for fetal blood sampling at between 18 and 40 weeks gestation. 27 fetuses were normal (central group), 11 fetuses were growth retarded and 15 were malformed. Main outcome measures Plasma zinc concentrations in maternal and fetal blood at lime of fetal blood sampling. Results In normally growing fetuses, between 18 and 40 weeks gestation, there was no fall in maternal plasma zinc concentration; the fetal level fell by 36%. In 10 fetuses with symmetrical growth retardation, plasma zinc concentration tended to be low, but was not significantly different from that in the normal control fetuses. Conclusion The results suggest that (i) placental transfer of zinc is an uphill secretory process and that it is a rate‐limiting step in the accumulation of zinc by the fetus and (ii) in fetuses with symmetrical intrauterine growth retardation, a low plasma zinc is probably a parallel phenomenon and not necessarily an aetiological factor.