Serum androstenedione levels during normal and human menopausal gonadotropin-induced human pregnancies.

17-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) and androstenedione (A) were measured frequently during the first trimester of five human pregnancies. Two were normally conceived and three were HMG induced. Of the HMG induced, two showed signs of hyperstimulation and one did not. 17-OHP and A patterns were very similar in the HMG-induced pregnancies from about days 25 to 60, after which the 17-OHP levels continued to drop. The A remained fairly constant after that time. In the normally conceived pregnancies the 17-OHP showed its characteristic rise and fall from about days 25 to 60, but A remained relatively constant throughout this period of time. The pattern of A in normal pregnancies is in marked contrast to that observed in HMG-induced pregnancies. Results from HMG-induced pregnancied may not, therefore, be always applicable to normal ones.