INSULIN-RELATED GROWTH-FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN-1 LEVELS IN OVUM DONATION PREGNANCIES

The finding that endometrial maturation may be delayed following hormo ne replacement therapy has suggested that a generalised endometrial dy sfunction may exist in ovum recipients. In order to investigate this s uggestion further, circulating levels of IGFBP-1 were measured in samp les taken throughout pregnancies conceived either spontaneously or fol lowing ovum donation. When analysed at two-weekly intervals, the serum levels of IGFBP-1 in ovum donation pregnancies failed to show the exp ected peak towards the end of the first trimester and were significant ly reduced at week ten (U = 364.5, p = 0.0002) and twelve (U = 138.0, p = 0.0047). For the remainder of pregnancy, circulating IGFBP-1 level s were similar in both groups. The birth weight of children born to th e ovum donation group was not significantly different from a normal co ntrol group, suggesting that circulating levels of IGFBP-1 in early pr egnancy do not reflect local function and that IGFBP-1 does not have a n essential function (in relation to birth weight) in early pregnancy.