title: Secretion and excretion of human chorionic gonadotropin during early pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the profiles of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) secretion in blood and its subsequent excretion in urine during conceptive cycles that ended in successful pregnancy and in spontaneous abortion.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University fertility clinic and research laboratories.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy, spontaneously ovulating women with regular menses, no history of infertility, and either no male partner or an azoospermic partner.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood and urine samples were collected daily from 63 spontaneously ovulating women during 167 cycles of artificial insemination (AI) with donor semen; hCG concentrations were measured in blood and urine, and luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations were measured in blood by immunoassay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fecundity, the day of ovulation, the day of hCG detection, and the concentration of hCG on the day of detection in blood and urine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 62 conceptions detected, 14 resulted in clinical spontaneous abortion (CAB) and 8 resulted in early pregnancy loss (EPL). When successful pregnancies and pregnancy losses were compared, no significant differences existed between the days of hCG appearance in serum or in urine, the concentrations of hCG on the day of detection, or the incremental change in hCG concentration on the day of detection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data validate the use of urinary hCG as a biomarker for assessing peri-implantation pregnancy events.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health and the Environment, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Pete N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Lohstroh
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Overstreet
authors.forename: Dennis R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Steven T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cragun
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Boyers
authors.forename: Bill L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lasley
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine*; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007315:Insemination, Artificial; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008598:Menstruation / Q000652:urine; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone