Abstract
ABSTRACT The relationship between maternal and fetal plasma ACTH concentrations were studied at the time of delivery in 9 normal women and their normal offspring, in 1 subject with Nelson's syndrome and her normal neonate and in 2 normal women and their anencephalic babies. The mean plasma ACTH concentration in the normal women was 211 pg/ml (range 93–439 pg/ml) whereas the mean fetal plasma ACTH concentration was 226 pg/ml (range 53–570 pg/ml). The correlation between the maternal and fetal ACTH concentrations was not significant. The maternal plasma ACTH concentration in the woman with Nelson's syndrome was 20 times that of her baby's. The plasma ACTH levels in the anencephalic infants were below the normal range and much lower than their respective mother's plasma ACTH concentration. These data suggest that significant transport of maternally derived ACTH to the fetus does not occur in man.
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