THYROXINE-BINDING BY SERA OF PREGNANT WOMEN, NEW-BORN INFANTS, AND WOMEN WITH SPONTANEOUS ABORTION 1

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Abstract
The partition of thyroxine between albumin and the specific thyroxine-binding protein (TBP) was compared in sera obtained from non-pregnant and pregnant women. At all concentrations of thyrozine studied, a greater percentage was bound to TBP in sera of normally pregnant women than in sera of controls. Data obtained from supplementation of maternal sera with mercaptalbumin suggest that the observed alteration in thyroxine-binding does not result from the physiological hypoalbuminemia of pregnancy. Alteration in thyroxine-binding begins early in pregnancy and persists well into the puerperium. A similar though less marked augmentation of thyroxine-binding by TBP was noted in sera obtained from umbilical cord bloods. Several patients with a diagnosis of threatened or inevitable abortion failed to demonstrate a change in thyroxine-binding capacity of TBP of the magnitude seen in normal pregnancy of similar duration.