Hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotropin (H-hCG) is secreted by the placenta in early pregnancy. Decreased H-hCG levels have been associated with abortion in spontaneous pregnancy. We retrospectively measured H-hCG and dimeric hCG in the sera of 87 in vitro fertilization patients obtained in the 3 weeks following embryo transfer and set the results in relation to pregnancy outcome. H-hCG ...

OBJECTIVE To detect hCG in spent embryo culture media at day 2 after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and to assess the relationship of hCG to embryo development. DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING Fertility center and clinical diagnostic laboratory. SAMPLE(S) A total of 102 spent culture media from day 2 human embryos and corresponding unexposed media for blank control. INTERVENTION(S)...

The present work aimed to identify the best doses of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) needed to induce oocyte maturation of Micropogonias furnieri and to characterize ovarian dynamics during the periovulatory period. Adult M. furnieri females with fully developed ovaries were injected intraperitoneally with four different doses of hCG. The gonadotropin response was succeeded by analyzing morp...

High-frequency uterine contractions at the time of non-cavitating embryo transfer influence adversely IVF-embryo transfer outcome. This prompted us to quantify prospectively the possible decline in uterine contraction frequency occurring during later stages of the luteal phase of ovarian stimulation, up to the time of blastocyst transfers, in 43 IVF-embryo transfer candidates. Contractility was...

Introduction Though the human fetus is exposed to placentally derived human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) throughout gestation, the role of hCG on the fetal brain is unknown. Review of the available literature appears to indicate that groups of women with higher mean levels of hCG during pregnancy tend to have offspring with lower cerebral palsy (CP) risk. Given that newborn cerebral injury ofte...

BACKGROUND Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is measured in serum and urine for the early detection of ectopic pregnancy, patients with higher risk of miscarriage, embryos or fetuses with chromosome abnormalities, prediction of pre-eclampsia or fetal growth restriction and identification or follow-up of trophoblast neoplasia. This review examines basic knowledge on the heterogeneity of hCG pr...

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone composed of two dissimilar subunits, alpha and beta. Nicks or missing peptide linkages have been found in the beta 44-52 region of the beta-subunit of hCG, whether from pregnancy or trophoblast disease. This article reviews recent reports about the location of nicks in hCG, their origin and occurrence, their effects on the steroidogen...

OBJECTIVES To provide clarity on the use of qualitative and quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) tests for the assessment of pregnancy. METHODS A case scenario and a brief review of the relevant literature describing clinical and analytical considerations regarding hCG testing are presented. RESULTS In pregnancy, hCG is nearly always detectable in serum and urine within 16 days a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Medical abortion was not officially approved in Taiwan until the end of 2001. We investigated the efficacy of combination mifepristone and misoprostol therapy for medical abortion (which has now been approved) in early pregnant Taiwanese women and whether the attitudes of women who received this treatment affected the clinical outcome of medical abortion. METHODS Eighty...