CIRCULATING LEVELS OF ALPHA‐FETOPROTEIN AND PREGNANCY SPECIFIC β1 GLYCOPROTEIN IN PREGNANCIES WITHOUT AN EMBRYO

Abstract

Ten patients with depressed serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels at 14 to 15 weeks gestation were found to have no embryo on ultrasonography: two patients had hydatiform moles and the remainder had anembryonic pregnancies (blighted ova). The pregnancy specific beta1 glycoprotein (SP1) levels in serum were measured in all these ten patients. Seven of the eight patients with anembryonic pregnancies and one of the two patients with molar pregnancies had low serum SP1 levels. These observations suggest that the measurement of AFP and SP1 may provide biochemical evidence of pregnancy without an embryo.