Abstract
Little is known about corticosteroid concentration in human amniotic fluid (AF) during the last trimester of pregnancy. 170 samples of AF were analyzed for cortisol, tetrahydrocortisol (THF), tetrahydrocortisone (THE), corticosterone and aldosterone by means of radioimmunoassay using highly specific antibodies raised in rabbits immunized by corticosteroid-21-hemisuccinate or -20-oxime bovine serum albumin (BSA) complexes. Samples were prepared in four different ways: 1:50 dilution, heating at 70°C, ethanolic and dichlormethanic extraction. Concentration of cortisol in AF rises impressively throughout 32–40 weeks of gestation and shows a significant correlation to gestational age as well as to AF-lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio. THF, THE, showed weaker correlations to gestational age, whereas corticosterone and aldosterone did not. Some methodological remarks will be made. The problem of 6β-hydroxycortisol as a cross-reacting cortisol metabolite is reported. Clinical value of the results will be discussed.
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