title: Maternal serum activin A and inhibin A in trisomy 18 pregnancies at 10-14 weeks.
abstract: In 45 cases of trisomy 18 and 493 control pregnancies at 10-14 weeks of gestation, maternal serum inhibin A, total activin A, free beta-hCG and PAPP-A were measured. In the trisomy 18 pregnancies the median values were 0.74 MoM for inhibin A, 1.23 MoM for activin A, 0.38 MoM for free beta-hCG and 0.16 MoM for PAPP-A. The degree of deviation from normal in the levels of inhibin and activin is small in comparison with free beta-hCG and PAPP-A and they are therefore unlikely to be of value in improving the sensitivity of 90% for a 1% false-positive rate achieved by screening with fetal nuchal translucency and maternal serum free beta-hCG and PAPP-A.
authors.affiliation: Endocrine Unit, Clinical Biochemistry Department, Harold Wood Hospital, Gubbins Lane, Romford, Essex RM3 0BE, UK. KevinSpencer1@cs.com
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Flack
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nicolaides
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000097:blood; D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007265:Inhibins / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / Q000378:metabolism; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014314:Trisomy / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D028341:Activins; D007265:Inhibins; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A