The Effect of Intra‐Amniotic Injection of Hypertonic Urea on Human Placental Lactogen (HPL) Secretion

Abstract

Segal, S., Ben‐David, M., Anteby, S. O. and Polishuk, W. Z. (Depts. of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pharmacology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel). The effect of intra‐amniotic injection of hypertonic urea on human placental lactogen (HPL) secretion. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 13: 193–196, 1975. Serum human placental lactogen (HPL) levels were studied in 27 women with normal pregnancies in their second trimester in whom abortion was induced by intra‐amniotic (IA) hypertonic urea. The levels of HPL remained stable during the procedure and up to the delivery of the placenta. The condition of the fetus (dead or alive) or the injection‐abortion interval did not affect HPL levels. It is thus concluded that HPL secretion is not impaired by the hypertonic urea, that it plays no role in initiation of uterine contractions, and whatever damage induced by the hypertonic urea solution does not affect HPL activity.

Histological Appearances of the Human Placenta Observed by Electron Microscopy After Hypertonic Saline Abortion

“…This theory has been challenged in three different fields of investigation. In the field of endocrinology data concerning urinary pregnanediol excretion and plasma levels of progesterone and other placental hormones after instillation of hypertonic saline remained controversial (7,8,14,15,16,18,20,22,23,24).…”