Comparative assay of HCG, HCT and HCS in molar pregnancy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · PubMed Health
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Determination of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) values in the serum by the radioimmunoassay technique, was performed in 23 women with suspected ectopic pregnancies. In 16 cases the values of HCG were high and the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy was verified by laparoscopy and laparotomy. In 7 cases low HCG values were found and ectopic pregnancy was excluded. The detection of HCG in the serum was found to be an excellent tool for the early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, thus helping to prevent the dangerous sequelae which follow the late diagnosis of this condition.
Serum profiles of growth hormone (GH), hPL and hCG were recorded in 5 pregnant women during termination of pregnancy at cesarean section and legal abortion. Two monoclonal antibodies directed against different epitopes on the GH molecule were used to distinguish the pituitary 22K-GH from the placental GH variant. After placental removal at cesarean section, a rapid fall in GH as well as in hPL and hCG concentrations was recorded. On the other hand GH levels were unaffected when early pregnancy was terminated by legal abortion. The importance of an intact placental function for the maintenance of high GH levels lends further support to the concept that a placental GH variant is produced during late pregnancy.
The antiprogestin RU 486 (mifepristone) has been shown to induce abortion when administered in early pregnancy, but the rate of incomplete abortion is high, around 40%. As blockage of the progesterone receptor increases the myometrial sensitivity to prostaglandins, a combination of RU 486 and a prostaglandin E2-analogue was tested for termination of pregnancy. One hundred and sixteen women, with a gestational length of less than 49 days from the first day of the last menstrual period, were treated with a daily dose of 50 or 100 mg RU 486 for 3 to 6 days, complemented with an intramuscular dose of 0.25 mg sulprostone (16-phenoxy-PGE2-sulfonylamide) on the last day of RU 486 treatment. The results confirmed that a reduction of treatment duration to 3 days is just as effective for inducing abortion (91% complete abortion) as a 4-6-day treatment regimen (95% complete abortion). Six patients had an incomplete abortion and in one the pregnancy continued unaffected. Side effects included intense uterine pain after the prostaglandin administration (16%), vomiting associated with the antiprogestin intake (9%) and after the prostaglandin administration (9%). One woman needed emergency curettage due to heavy bleeding. Six percent of the treated patients had a decrease in hemoglobin exceeding 20 g/l during the first week but no patient needed blood transfusion. No serious side effects were recorded.
The effect of a single dose of RU 486 (600mg) on prostaglandin metabolite levels has been studied over a 48 h period in 20 women undergoing medical termination of early pregnancy. The results were compared with controls of similar gestation who were treated surgically. The mean (SD) PGEM levels at 0 and 48 h in the RU 486 group were 13.7 (2.7) and 13.2 (2.2) pg/ml respectively, which was not significantly different from the values of 11.7 (1.1) and 11.3 (0.4) pg/ml measured in the control patients. Similarly the mean (SD) PGFM values of 22.3 (14.7) and 17.0 (7.2) pg/ml at 0 and 48 h were not significantly different from the corresponding control values of 21.9 (13.8) and 23.8 (7.2) pg/ml. In 10 of the study patients, there were no significant changes in PGEM and PGFM concentrations prior to and at 4, 24 and 48 h after RU 486 administration. Although all pregnancies were successfully terminated with the combination of RU 486 and subsequently a vaginal pessary containing PGE1, no stimulation of prostaglandin production could be demonstrated.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is synthesized and secreted as early as 170 hr after fertilization and has been used as an index for pregnancy. Neutralization of hCG with a beta-subunit hCG vaccine(s) has been proposed as a contraceptive technique. To monitor the duration of effectiveness of the vaccine, it will be necessary to monitor the anti-hCG antibodies, especially those responsible for inhibiting the hCG bioactivity. We report a simple, rapid technique using an indium slide immunoassay for the qualitative estimation of hCG and to monitor a bioeffective anti-hCG antibody. The sensitivity of the indium slide assay to measure hCG ranged from 1 microgram/ml to 1 ng/ml, depending on the format of the assay. The indium slide assay also detected anti-hCG antibodies generated against a specific determinant on hCG recognized by a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (P3W80) in women immunized with a contraceptive vaccine.
Fifty-one women with missed periods ranging from 5 to 14 days who suspected a pregnancy underwent an aspiration curettage with a flexible soft-tipped cannula attached to a Karman-type syringe. Sera from these women were measured for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) by a rapid 2-hour solid phase radioimmunoassay using an antibody with a specificity for the beta subunit of hCG. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay insured detection of bCG with 100% accuracy at the time of the missed period. Of the 51 women, 33 (64.7%) were found to have hCG in their serum, and 29 (56.8%) had histologic evidence diagnostic of pregnancy.
Serum chorion gonadotropin was measured weekly in 12 women from the time of legal first trimester abortion until values were below 10 IU/L. The elimination followed a 2-component curve. The half-life in the first few days was 1.1 day, hereafter 4.2 days. Serum-HCG decreased to less than 10 IU/L within 22 to 40 days. The elimination of serum-HCG was found to decrease so uniformly, that values which do not decrease must be considered abnormal. A sensitive bedside urine-HCG test was found to be positive from 13 to 31 days after the abortion.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if fertilization occurs unnoticed among Norplant users who are ovulatory. DESIGN: Serial blood samples were obtained during 1 month from sexually active Norplant users experiencing regular menstrual bleeding patterns and a control group of noncontracepting women trying to conceive. The sequential blood samples were assayed for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). SETTING: All samples were obtained from women receiving contraceptive service and health care at the Center for Research and Services in Human Reproduction and Contraception, Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic. Assays for hCG were performed at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: A total of 32 women using Norplant implants were enrolled in the treatment group, and 20 women of proven fertility who were attempting to conceive served as a control group. INTERVENTIONS: Duration of Norplant use was as follows: 4 in the 2nd year of use, 13 in the 3rd year, 11 in the 4th year, 3 in the 5th year, and 1 in the 7th year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The determination of pregnancy was based on the presence of hCG in the luteal phase, using a sensitive and specific immunoenzymatic assay that can detect dimeric hCG as early as 7 days after ovulation. RESULTS: Nine pregnancies were detected. All were in the control group trying to conceive. Six of these advanced to clinical pregnancies, and three did not proceed beyond the next expected menses. None of the Norplant users had evidence of hCG production, whether the observed cycles were anovulatory or ovulatory. The probability of finding no pregnancies in the ovulatory months at risk among Norplant users is between 1 in 50 and 1 in 150,000. The null hypothesis that Norplant users conceive at a natural rate can be rejected at the 0.05 level. CONCLUSION: Interruption of early pregnancy (menstrual abortion) does not play a role in the mechanism of action of Norplant contraceptive implants.
A commercially prepared radioreceptor assay (RRA) for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has been evaluated as a pregnancy test and in a quantitative assay to follow patients with hydatidiform mole. The RRA demonstrated almost 100% agreement in comparison with radioimmunoassay (RIA) and urinary hCG tests. In the quantitative assay, a limiting reliable concentration of 70 mIU/ml of hCG in serum could be obtained. Extremely good correlation was achieved between the RRA and RIA test for hCG in 2 patients with hydatidiform mole over a span of 3 months of followup after evacuation of the mole. The usefulness of the RRA as a replacement of RIA tests for hCG is discussed.
We have studied the performance of three currently available home pregnancy tests. The Advance is a test based on monoclonal antibodies in an enzyme immunoassay format that specifically detects hCG in urine. The positive results are determined by the presence of a blue color in a color stick (30 minutes). The Daisy 2 and FACT are tests based on monoclonal antibodies that specifically detect hCG in urine in a hemagglutination inhibition assay; positive results are demonstrated by the deposition of a dot ring at the bottom of the test tube (45 minutes). Thirty-five patients who eventually became pregnant in that cycle collected the first morning urine specimens from day of ovulation (determined by ultrasound) in artificial insemination donor (AID) cycles, or from the date of gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) for 16 consecutive days. In each specimen, the Advance, Daisy 2, and FACT tests were performed; in addition, beta-hCG levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. All the home pregnancy tests studied can detect pregnancy as early as 9 or 10 days post-conception, and they give positive results at the time of the expected onset of menses in 70%, 95%, and 88% of cases for Daisy 2, Advance, and FACT, respectively. The sensitivity of the these home pregnancy tests was determined to be about 200 mIU/mL of urine after correlating their positive or negative results with the concentrations of urinary beta-hCG determined by radioimmunoassay.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method of sandwich type for determination of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in serum or urine using horseradish peroxidase as an enzyme label and microtiter ELISA plates (or polystyrene microtubes respectively) as a solid phase support for antibody was developed. Test sensitivity of 200 mIU hCG per milliliter is approximately sixfold greater than the available hemo- or latex agglutination tests; quantitative hCG ELISA method has sensitivity of 6 mIU hCG per milliliter. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the method for early pregnancy detection 5,000 urine samples were prospectively collected and results correlated with outcome of pregnancy. Reliability of the test performed on routine basis at the Institute for the Care of Mother and Child in Prague proved to be 97.2% for intrauterine pregnancy detection, in 2.52% the test result was "+ -", and only in 0.28% the results were erroneous. For samples sent with the diagnosis of suspected extrauterine pregnancy 93.5% of correct results, 4.35% of "+ -" and 2.17% of erroneous results was found.
New urinary tests of pregnancy have recently been developed that are exceptionally sensitive to HCG. Our study was undertaken to explore the possibility that exogenous HCG, administered to induce ovulation, may interfere with these low-threshold tests of pregnancy. Six healthy volunteers participated in our study. Each woman received three sequential 5,000-U doses of HCG by im route on days 3, 5, and 7 after ovulation. Blood and urine for HCG assay were taken daily from each subject. Urine specimens were subjected to a traditional high-threshold pregnancy test (sensitivity limit = 2000 U/L) and to a low-threshold pregnancy test (sensitivity limit = 50 U/L); HCG in plasma and urine was determined by ELISA assay. Plasma HCG levels increased gradually under HCG dosing and attained a peak on day 8 (average = 73.7 U/L; range 24-124 U/L). As regards urinary HCG levels, the average value on days 8, 9, and 10 was above the 50-U/L detection limit of the low-threshold test, which was in fact positive in the majority of patients. Also on days 11 and 12, however, urinary HCG levels were above this limit in a certain proportion of subjects (day 11, 2/6; day 12, 1/6); accordingly the low-threshold pregnancy test was positive with a frequency of 2/6 on day 11 and of 1/6 on day 12. By contrast, the traditional high-threshold pregnancy test was negative in urine samples of all subjects. Our study indicates that the increased sensitivity of modern low-threshold pregnancy tests may cause false positive results in those cases where exogenous HCG has been administered during the luteinic phase.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Unconjugated oestrone (Oe1), oestradiol-17beta (Oe2), oestriol (Oe3), progesterone (P) and HPL in plasma were determined by radioimmunoassay and the immunological pregnancy-test in urine was carried out in 70 patients with normal pregnancy or imminent abortion from 4th-20th week of gestation. Oe2 and HPL showed the most pronounced rises, Oe3 increased especially after the first trimester. In cases with abortion symptoms and poor prognosis Oe2 and HPL gave the most reliable results concerning the endocrin function of early normal pregnancy. Oe1- and P-values in normal pregnancy did not differ so clearly from concentrations observed during normal menstrual cycles and were thus of less value. The pregnancy-test was positive (greater than 1000 IU/1) even in most cases of dead pregnancy and therefore not reliable. With increasing production of oestrogen precursors in the fetal adrenal cortex after the first trimester determination of Oe3 becomes more important. In cases with abortion symptoms in early pregnancy and subsequent normal development, plasma Oe2- and Oe3- values represented best criteria for a prognosis. -- For the diagnosis and control of the endangered early pregnancy we recommend, as a consequence of this study, determination of Oe2 up to the 13th week of pregnancy and thereafter Oe3 in maternal plasma.
Investigations on the influence of the diuresis effect upon the results of quantitative oestrogen and HCG determinations revealed that the oestrogen values increase with the 24-hour amount of urine. Oliguria and polyuria affect oestrogen excretion to a considerable extent; they have to be taken into account in prenatal diagnosis of pregnancy. Comparative HCG checks show that HCG concentration also varies considerable depending on fluid excretion. Diagnostic errors can be diminished or avoided when the quantitative HCG assessment is made on the 24-hour urine and then referred to the whole amount of urine.