Human Reproduction, Vol. 14, No. 8, 2120-2123,
August 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotrophin in pregnancies conceived after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and conventional in-vitro fertilization
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Data in the Caucasian population suggest that maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and unconjugated oestriol concentrations are reduced and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) concentrations are elevated in pregnancies conceived after in-vitro fertilization (IVF), leading to a higher than expected Down's syndrome screen-positive rate. There are no previous reports on the serum marker values in pregnancies conceived after intracytoplasmic injection (ICSI). Between 1996 and 1998, we measured maternal serum total HCG and AFP concentrations between 15 and 20 weeks gestation in 42 in-vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies and 23 ICSI pregnancies with known normal outcome. The results were compared with that of 2799 naturally occurring singleton pregnancies who were known to have a normal outcome. Median AFP multiple of the median (MOM) in ICSI pregnancies was significantly reduced to 0.76 compared with both that of the controls and that of the IVF pregnancies. For the IVF pregnancies, median HCG MOM was elevated to 1.15, and median AFP MOM was reduced to 0.88 compared with the controls, but these differences were not statistically significant. In both the IVF and ICSI pregnancies the changes might result in a falsely high Down's syndrome risk. In particular, the reduced AFP concentration in ICSI pregnancies was substantial. If this preliminary finding is substantiated by other series, the appropriate adjustment needs to be made to allow for valid interpretation of the screen result and to avoid an unnecessarily high false positive rate.
Key words: alpha-fetoprotein/Down's syndrome/human chorionic gonadotrophin/ICSI/IVF–embryo transfer
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: University Office, Tsan Yuk Hospital, 30 Hospital Road, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, China
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  P.A. Nepomnaschy, C.R. Weinberg, A.J. Wilcox, and D.D. Baird Urinary hCG patterns during the week following implantation Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2008; 23(2): 271 - 277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. D. Pan, I. Peter, G. M. Lambert-Messerlian, J. A. Canick, D. W. Bianchi, and K. L. Johnson Cell-free fetal DNA levels in pregnancies conceived by IVF Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2005; 20(11): 3152 - 3156. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Bellver, C. Lara, S. R. Soares, A. Ramirez, A. Pellicer, J. Remohi, and V. Serra First trimester biochemical screening for Down's syndrome in singleton pregnancies conceived by assisted reproduction Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2005; 20(9): 2623 - 2627. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P.W. Hui, M.H.Y. Tang, Y.H. Lam, E.H.Y. Ng, W.S.B. Yeung, and P.C. Ho Maternal serum hCG and alpha-fetoprotein levels in pregnancies conceived after IVF or ICSI with fresh and frozen-thawed embryos Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2003; 18(3): 572 - 575. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Maymon and A. Shulman Serial first- and second-trimester Down's syndrome screening tests among IVF-versus naturally-conceived singletons Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2002; 17(4): 1081 - 1085. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Perheentupa, A. Ruokonen, L. Tuomivaara, M. Ryynanen, and H. Martikainen Maternal serum {beta}-HCG and {alpha}-fetoprotein concentrations in singleton pregnancies following assisted reproduction Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2002; 17(3): 794 - 797. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Raty, A. Virtanen, P. Koskinen, L. Anttila, J. Forsstrom, P. Laitinen, P. Morsky, A. Tiitinen, and U. Ekblad Serum free {beta}-HCG and alpha-fetoprotein levels in IVF, ICSI and frozen embryo transfer pregnancies in maternal mid-trimester serum screening for Down's syndrome Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2002; 17(2): 481 - 484. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Yaron, O. Lehavi, A. Orr-Urtreger, I. Gull, J. B. Lessing, A. Amit, and D. Ben-Yosef Maternal serum HCG is higher in the presence of a female fetus as early as week 3 post-fertilization Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2002; 17(2): 485 - 489. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A.W. Liao, V. Heath, N. Kametas, K. Spencer, and K.H. Nicolaides First-trimester screening for trisomy 21 in singleton pregnancies achieved by assisted reproduction Hum. Reprod., July 1, 2001; 16(7): 1501 - 1504. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Maymon and A. Shulman Comparison of triple serum screening and pregnancy outcome in oocyte donation versus IVF pregnancies Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2001; 16(4): 691 - 695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R.S. Gold, F. Azem, I. Yovel, I. Wagman, A. Amit, and J.B. Lessing Does ICSI affect early serum {beta}-HCG in pregnancies achieved after IVF? Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2000; 15(6): 1221 - 1224. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|