title: Free testosterone and abortion in early pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between percentage of free testosterone (% free T) and the abortion rate in early pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), total T, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and % free T were measured in sera obtained from 60 pregnant women with normal pregnancy (n = 38) and missed abortion (n = 22) at between 4 and 12 weeks' gestation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  P, E2, total T, and SHBG in 22 patients with missed abortion were significantly lower than those in normal group, whereas % free T was significantly higher. There was a significant negative correlation between % free T and SHBG concentration in the normal group, but not in the missed abortion group. All the subjects in whom % free T was 1.30% and higher subsequently miscarried, but no subject with % free T less than 0.70% had a miscarriage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The lower the % free T, the lower the rate of subsequent abortion. The value of % free T may be able to predict pregnancy outcome in early pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Branch Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nishii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yaginuma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawana
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol