OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to identify potential biomarkers for fetal trisomy 21 from previous publications using proteomic techniques and examine the potential value of such biomarkers in early screening for this aneuploidy. METHODS This was a case-control study of 25 pregnancies with fetal trisomy 21 and 50 euploid controls undergoing first-trimester screening for aneuploidies by a ...

OBJECTIVES To provide estimates and confidence intervals for the performance (detection and false-positive rates) of screening for Down's syndrome using repeated measures of biochemical markers from first and second trimester maternal serum samples taken from the same woman. DESIGN Stored serum on Down's syndrome cases and controls was used to provide independent test data for the assessment ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the maternal serum concentration of placental protein 13 (PP13) is altered in chromosomally abnormal pregnancies and to examine the potential value of this placental protein in screening for aneuploidies at 11-13 weeks. METHODS The maternal serum concentration of PP13 at 11-13 weeks was compared in 536 euploid and 134 aneuploid pregnancies (trisomy 21: n = 49;...

background : cytomegalovirus (cmv) is the most common cause of congenital infection, with increased morbidity and mortality at birth. the risk of intrauterine infection largely depends on the time of maternal infection during pregnancy. currently, no national screening test for cmv infection is available during pregnancy in iran. the aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of cmv ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the distribution of maternal serum placental growth factor (PlGF) at 12, 22, 32 and 36 weeks' gestation in singleton pregnancies which develop pre-eclampsia (PE) and examine the performance of this biomarker in screening for PE. METHODS Serum PlGF was measured in 40 212 cases at 11-13 weeks, in 10 282 cases at 19-24 weeks, in 10 400 at 30-34 weeks and 4043 at 35-37 weeks....

The suggested strategies for a screening programme for Down's syndrome by maternal serum alpha fetoprotein concentration were examined and tested on the experience of the North East Thames Regional. Screening by maternal serum alpha fetoprotein concentration may be used to identify pregnancies at increased risk, but this is useful only in women aged over 32 whose collective risk is greater than...

Antenatal screening for fetal anomalies has provided women and their partners with information to make reproductive choices based on the risk of serious chromosomal or structural defects since the 1990s. Alternative tests include first-trimester screening (combined ultrasound and maternal serum markers), second-trimester maternal serum markers and noninvasive cell-free DNA testing. The recent r...

AIMS To analyse the predictive power of maternal serum inhibin A, activin A, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), unconjugated estriol (uE(3)), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and uterine artery Doppler in the second trimester of pregnancy in screening for pre-eclampsia. METHODS Maternal serum inhibin A, activin A, hCG, uE(3), and AFP levels and uterine artery Doppler were determined in 178 hea...