Parental Chromosomal Abnormalities in 50 Couples with Recurrent Spontaneous Abortions

Abstract

Although the etiology of repetitive fetal wastage is unknown in many instances, parental chromosomal rearrangements represent a well-established cause of repetitive spontaneous abortions. And the frequency of parental translocations with recurrent spontaneous abortions varies widely in reported series (4.7%-19.3%). From January, 1980 to December, 1985, fifty couples with histories of two or more recurrent abortions were evaluated cytogenetically with a GTG(G-band with Trypsin using Giemsa) technique. The results were as follows: 1. In five (10%) of the couples with balanced translocations, four balanced carrier partners (8%) were identified in husbands and one another (2%) in wives. 2. Pericentric inversion of the ninth chromosome were identified in two male partners (4%). A high incidence (14%) of cytogenetic abnormalities were found in couples with recurrent abortions. Chromosome analysis is advocated as a primary tool in the evaluation of couples with repetitive fetal wastage.