BLOOD LEVELS OF 17-HYDROXYCORTICOSTEROIDS IN NORMAL PREGNANCY

Abstract

IT IS well known that the adrenals enlarge during the course of pregnancy. The enlargement is based on proliferation of the cortical cells. As it is reversible and disappears with the termination of pregnancy, it seems to be a purely functional alteration. There is little specific evidence to clarify its significance. Methods have been developed whereby adrenal activity can be investigated indirectly by the measurement of substances in blood or urine derived from the adrenal cortex. Using a bioassay based on the ability of adrenocortical substances to cause deposition of glycogen in the liver of adrenalectomized mice, Venning (1) has studied the output of these substances in the urine of pregnant women and reported a marked increase, especially in the last trimester. Using chemical methods for the determination of the same urinary steroids, other workers (2, 3) have shown a similar rise to about twice the normal value during the third trimester. In 7 pregnant women in the eighth month of gestation, Cope et al. (4) have reported that the cortisone output in the urine was elevated.