title: Vitamin A concentration in amniotic fluid and maternal serum related to neural-tube defects.
abstract: The vitamin A concentration of amniotic fluid and maternal serum was measured during the second trimester of pregnancy in 106 women, 12 of whom had a baby with a neural-tube defect. In these 12 pregnancies the amniotic fluid vitamin A concentration was significantly higher than in 94 normal pregnancies. There was a highly significant correlation between amniotic fluid vitamin A and both zinc and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. The maternal serum vitamin A levels were also significantly related to serum zinc levels. Women with a raised serum AFP level, but a normal baby, had significantly higher amniotic fluid vitamin A levels and significantly lower serum vitamin A levels compared with those in women with normal serum AFP levels.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D014801:Vitamin A; D015032:Zinc