Midtrimester maternal serum inhibin A levels after multifetal pregnancy reduction.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between the maternal serum inhibin A concentrations and the number of fetuses. Further, the maternal serum inhibin A levels for twin pregnancies and multiple pregnancies reduced to twins in the second trimester were compared.


METHODS
Three groups of women with pregnancies following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer were recruited for this study. Groups 1, 2 and 3 included 20 singleton pregnancies, 37 twin pregnancies, and 35 multifetal pregnancies, respectively. In group 3, multifetal reduction was performed during 10-12 weeks of gestation. Blood samples were obtained longitudinally at 10th, 12th, 15th and 18th week of gestation.


RESULTS
There was a significant association between the number of fetuses and maternal plasma inhibin A prior to multifetal reduction. The inhibin A levels were not significantly different between twin and multifetal reduced twin pregnancies at 15th and 18th weeks of gestation.


CONCLUSIONS
In multifetal reduction to twin pregnancies, the maternal serum levels of inhibin A decrease to the level of twin pregnancies during the second trimester. Therefore, inhibin A may be effectively used as a marker for Down syndrome screening in cases of twin pregnancy following multifetal reduction.
Chen
Heng-Ju
HJ
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Huang
Lee-Wen
LW
Lin
Yu-Hung
YH
Seow
Kok-Min
KM
Hsieh
Bih-Chwen
BC
Hwang
Jiann-Loung
JL
Tzeng
Chii-Ruey
CR
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007265:Inhibins / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D018607:Pregnancy Reduction, Multifetal; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; C422362:inhibin A; D007265:Inhibins