Maternal and Fetal Alphafetoprotein (Afp) Levels at Term

Obiekwe, B. C.; Malek, N.; Kitau, M. J.; Chard, Tim

doi:10.3109/00016348509155123

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The present study confirms and extends previous observations that maternal AFP se rum levels are related to fetal sex [25][26][27][28][29]. If fetal sex is disregarded when setting limits for normal maternal serum AFP levels in the screening procedure, it is to be expected that more women carrying male rather than fe male fetuses will be ranked as 'risk' patients.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Outcome of Pregnancy in Relation to Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in the Second Trimester

Bremme¹,

Eneroth²,

Nilsson³

et al. 1988

Gynecol Obstet Invest

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

120 women with elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in pregnancy week 16–17 were subsequently supervised every 4th week until a few days postpartum. A group of 102 women with normal (n = 78) or low (n = 24) serum AFP concentrations in pregnancy week 16–17 were studied in the same way. In the last week before parturition the AFP serum level declined and the decrease was more pronounced with increasing gestational duration up to pregnancy week 41. The AFP level relationship between the women was stable on average throughout the pregnancies. Smoking was found to be related to elevated maternal serum AFP levels in pregnancy week 16–17. Among mothers younger than 25 years, 72% of those with high or very high AFP serum levels in pregnancy week 16–17 were smokers. Among women with elevated or much elevated maternal serum AFP levels in pregnancy week 16–17, male fetuses predominated. But only those carrying female fetuses gave premature birth to small-for-date children. Further analysis of the data revealed that if such a woman was a multipara, there was a 54% risk of a small-for-date premature female baby. Other data indicate that this risk may be increased by smoking and maternal age. It is recommended that this category of mothers with elevated AFP in pregnancy week 16–17 is continuously supervised during pregnancy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Outcome of Pregnancy in Relation to Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in the Second Trimester

Bremme¹,

Eneroth²,

Nilsson³

et al. 1988

Gynecol Obstet Invest

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since higher testosterone levels have been measured in amniotic fluid from pregnancies of male fetuses [10], one possibility would be to assess the net effect of sex hormones on AFP production by measuring the AFP levels in the fetal blood. In fact, umbilical cord arterial and venous AFP levels are considerably higher in male than in female infants [11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Amniotic Fluid Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels Influenced by the Gender in Twin Pairs?

Sharony

Drugan²,

Amiel³

et al. 2003

Fetal Diagn Ther

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: To examine the assumption that amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein (AFAFP) levels are different in female and male twin fetuses. Design: Amniotic fluid levels of AFP in pregnancies with female and male fetuses in gender-concordant and gender-discordant twins were compared. A t test of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Material and Methods: Between 1995 and 1999, 332 genetic amniocenteses on twin pregnancies were performed at Meir Hospital, Kfar Saba, and Rambam Hospital, Haifa, Israel. One hundred and sixty-six were concordant for gender (84 females and 82 males) while 166 pairs differed in their gender. The amniotic fluid AFP levels of each sac were measured using fluorescent immunoassay methods by an AutoDELFIA machine. Results: The mean levels of AFAFP were lower in female twins compared to their male counterparts in same-gender twins (p = 0.07), although the difference was quite small. Nevertheless, there was no such difference between AFAFP of male versus female fetuses in gender-discordant twins. Conclusions: The levels of AFAFP were higher in the male twins of gender-concordant twins in comparison to female twins. No such difference was found between female versus male fetuses in gender-disconcordant twins.

show abstract

“…However, this hypothesis can hardly explain two facts: (1) The inverse correlation between fetal (umbilical cord) AFP levels and birth weight [10][11][12] ; (2) MSAFP increases several weeks before both IUGR and any kind of placental lesions are manifest even though it has been speculated that these placental pathological changes can have their origin in the second trimester, although they are not evident until later in pregnancy [13] . In addition, in situations in which there is a clear placental abnormality that may lead to MSAFP elevations such as placental separation, stratified analyses have demonstrated that elevations of MSAFP and early gestation bleeding are independent predictors of low birth weight infants [14] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Serum Transformed α-Fetoprotein Levels in Women with Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Bartha

Illanes²,

Bugatto³

et al. 2007

Fetal Diagn Ther

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To evaluate maternal serum transformed α-fetoprotein (t-AFP) levels in women with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Methods: 60 pregnant women in two groups were studied: 30 with IUGR and 30 healthy pregnant women as a control group. t-AFP concentrations were determined by ELISA assay. Results: Maternal serum t-AFP levels were higher in women with IUGR than in the control group: 15.39 (10.81–24.01) ng/ml vs. 8.66 (6.22–13.45) ng/ml (p = 0.003). t-AFP levels were even higher in those with fetal hemodynamic redistribution 21.08 (16.02–40.85) ng/ml than in those without 12.15 (10.48–17.45) ng/ml (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Maternal serum t-AFP is increased in women with IUGR and this elevation is marked in those with fetal hemodynamic redistribution.

show abstract

Maternal and Fetal Alphafetoprotein (Afp) Levels at Term

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

Outcome of Pregnancy in Relation to Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in the Second Trimester

Outcome of Pregnancy in Relation to Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in the Second Trimester

Are Amniotic Fluid Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels Influenced by the Gender in Twin Pairs?

Maternal Serum Transformed α-Fetoprotein Levels in Women with Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About