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Relaxin levels in ovum donation pregnancies
M R Johnson1, H Abdalla, A C Allman
1Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Fertility and Sterility
|July 1, 1991
Abstract
Study Objective:
To investigate the relative contributions of the corpus luteum (CL) and the placenta to the circulating levels of relaxin during pregnancy.
Patients:
Forty-one patients in whom pregnancy had been achieved by ovum donation.
Results:
Relaxin was not detected in the serum of 36 patients; in the remaining 5, although it was detectable, the levels were markedly reduced when compared with those in normal pregnancies.
Conclusion:
These results demonstrate that the CL is essential for the maintenance of normal circulating levels of relaxin during pregnancy.