Surge in Down syndrome prenatal testing anticipated

Advances in prenatal screening for Down syndrome: II first trimester testing, integrated testing, and future directions.

BACKGROUND The acceptability of prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down syndrome is dependent, in part, on the gestational age at which the testing is offered. First trimester screening could be advantageous if it has sufficient efficacy and can be effectively delivered. ISSUES Two first trimester maternal serum screening markers, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and free beta-...

Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome

Down syndrome ([DS] trisomy 21) is the most common cause of intellectual disability worldwide, affects approximately 1:500 pregnancies and is seen in 1:800 to 1:1,000 live births [1]. Down syndrome is the leading cause of prenatal chromosome abnormalities, accounting for 53% of all reported chromosome conditions. Genetic prenatal diagnosis (PD) for DS, since its introduction in the late 1960s, ...

Prenatal Diagnosis of Down Syndrome

Chromosomal aberration is a phenomenon occurring relatively commonly in the development process. Chromosomal aberration is known to have various causes, and its frequency has been reported to vary particularly according to maternal age. Though different among reports, the frequency was around 0.6-0.8% in analysis with all childbirths1 and around 2-3% in case childbirths were reclassified based ...

12 Prenatal screening for Down syndrome

At the turn of the century, several Western countries introduced prenatal screening for Down syndrome. Technology became widely and easily available, and the combination of ultrasound and then blood tests made it possible to screen the entire pregnant population. For the first time in history, there was a chance of detecting, and eventually aborting, most instances of Down syndrome, and at rela...

Non Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis of Down Syndrome