title: Habitual abortion is accompanied by low serum levels of placental protein 14 in the luteal phase of the fertile cycle.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study serum levels of placental protein 14 (PP14) in relation to endometrial function in women with a history of habitual abortion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Departments I and II of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Central Hospital of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients (26 primary and 24 secondary habitual aborters) and 38 controls without a history of abortion studied during a regular cycle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Habitual aborters as a whole or when subgrouped into those with normal cycles (n = 40) or with a luteal phase defect (LPD; n = 10) and control women demonstrated a distinct increase in PP14 levels from late follicular to late luteal phases. In the luteal phase, serum PP14 levels were lower in the patients than in the controls (27.2 +/- 3.1 versus 48.5 +/- 10.1 micrograms/L), but the differences in PP14 levels between habitual aborters with or without LPD was not significant (16.3 +/- 4.3 versus 29.9 +/- 3.7 micrograms/L).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Habitual aborters exhibit lower serum PP14 levels in the late luteal phase compared with normal fertile women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tulppala
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Julkunen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tiitinen
authors.forename: U H
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Stenman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seppälä
mesh_terms: D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D005498:Follicular Phase; D000071816:Glycodelin; D006023:Glycoproteins; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000097:blood*; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D000071816:Glycodelin; D006023:Glycoproteins; C045246:PAEP protein, human; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins