2ND-TRIMESTER UNCONJUGATED ESTRIOL LEVELS IN MATERNAL SERUM FROM CHROMOSOMALLY ABNORMAL PREGNANCIES USING AN OPTIMIZED ASSAY

Second-trimester unconjugated oestriol (UE3) levels were measured retrospectively in maternal serum from 78 chromosomally abnormal pregnancies and 390 matched controls using a radioimmunoassay kit (Amersham AMERLEX-M) optimized for use in the second trimester. Reduced levels of UE3 were found in a group of 49 Down's syndrome pregnancies with a median UE3 level of 0.79 multiples of the median (MOM) of the controls. Four trisomy 18 pregnancies had UE3 levels less than 0.7 MOM. There was a highly significant level of correlation between alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and UE3 levels in the controls (r=0.25, p<0.01), the Down's syndrome pregnancies (r=0.44, p<0.01), and the other chromosome abnormalities (r=0.61, p<0.01). When used as an additional marker to AFP and human chorionic gonadotrophin in screening for Down's syndrome, UE3 does not appear to add to the sensitivity of such screening.