Sonar Evidence of Early Pregnancy Failure in Patients With Twin Conceptions

Abstract

Summary During a four‐year period 30 patients were diagnosed by sonar in the first trimester of pregnancy as having twin conceptions. Of these 30 patients, 14 eventually gave birth to twins. Eleven of the remaining 16 patients were found to have a normal pregnancy and a coexistent blighted ovum (empty sac), and ultimately all but one gave birth to a single baby; the eleventh patient aborted a fresh fetus at 25 weeks of gestation. Of the last five patients, four were diagnosed as having twin blighted ova, and one a blighted ovum and a missed abortion; these five patients either aborted spontaneously or had an elective termination of pregnancy. The results suggest that the incidence of twin conceptions is higher than the commonly accepted figure of 1 in 80.

Cells from a vanished twin as a source of microchimerism 40 years later in a male with a scleroderma-like condition.

“…The manufacturer's instructions (Abbott laboratories, Illinois, USA) report that the probe kit used for FISH offers a We then hypothesized that the female cells were from an unrecognized vanished twin, as this phenomenon is relatively common in healthy pregnancies. 10 The patient tested positively for non inherited paternal HLA alleles (NIPA) with amplification for two different HLA class II alleles by QPCR, supporting this hypothesis. An alternative explanation could be Mc from an older sister passed via maternal blood to the patient during his fetal life or from a miscarriage (recognized or unrecognized) of the mother prior to the patient's birth.…”

“…A vanished twin is relatively common in healthy pregnancies. 10 We present here the case of a 40-year-old male with a scleroderma-like disease who was studied for maternal Mc and for Mc from a vanished twin.…”

Use of Multivitamins and Folic Acid in Early Pregnancy and Multiple Births in Sweden

“…On the other hand, prevention of the fetal death of one of dizygotic twins ("vanishing twin") could selectively increase dizygotic twinning. However, the majority of the "vanishing twins" seem to represent blighted ova (Robinson et al, 1977) and their survival to birth seems unlikely. A further possibility is that an increase in folic acid level could increase the probability for multiple ovulation or implantation of more than one egg.…”

The Vanishing Twin

“…Furthermore, the number of twins observed at delivery was significantly less than the number of twin conceptions originally identified by ultrasound during the first trimester. These observations led to the concept of the "vanishing twin" [8,10,13,15,17,20,22,35,41].…”

“…Furthermore, the number of twins observed at delivery was significantly less than the number of twin conceptions originally identified by ultrasound during the first trimester. These observations led to the concept of the "vanishing twin" [8,10,13,15,17,20,22,35,41].In order to obtain reference and personal data on this subject, we reviewed the literature and corresponded with members of the International Society for Twin Studies and obstetricians affiliated with Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. The nine studies that have documented this phenomenon cite "disappearance" rates ranging from 0% to 78%, depending on patient population and timing of ultrasonography [8,10,13,15,17,20,22,35,41].…”