Regulation of Extraadrenal Steroid 21-Hydroxylase Activity

We measured deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and progesterone (P) in plasma of 47 women pregnant with a dead fetus and sequentially throughout gestation in 35 women pregnant with a live fetus. When P levels in plasma were low, the plasma levels of DOC in women pregnant with a dead fetus varied but usually were similar to those in women pregnant with a live fetus. However, when P levels were high, the levels of DOC in some women pregnant with a dead...