BioScience Trends. 2019;13(3):284-285. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01155)

New thoughts in exploring the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of threatened abortion.

Zhou J, Huang ZS, Pan XY, Leung WT, Li CY, Chen LJ, Zhang YZ, Wang L, Sima YZ, Zhang N, Qiu XM, Li LS, Wang L

Threatened abortion is a common complication of pregnancy. Since the underlying mechanisms behind this condition are complicated, predicting and treating threatened abortion is a challenge for clinicians. Interestingly, a recent article in Bioscience Trends (Biosci Trends 2019; DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01111) revealed a higher, not lower, level of êžµ-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen during the first 6 weeks of pregnancy, suggesting a novel association between êžµ-hCG, estrogen, and threatened abortion. Unfortunately, this study was limited by its small sample size, unconvincing trial design, and inadequate exploration of the underlying mechanisms. This low-quality evidence indicates that a higher level of êžµ- hCG and estrogen is associated with threatened abortion. However, that work provided some new insights for further studies of threatened abortion.

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