Reflections on the ethical debate surrounding non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis

An up-and-coming technology will soon allow genetic testing of a fetus with a simple maternal blood test early in the first trimester of the pregnancy by isolating cell-free fetal DNA in the mother's plasma. Currently, obtaining reliable diagnostic genetic information requires invasive testing with Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. Both carry a risk of miscarriage and are performed between weeks 10 and 20 of the pregnancy...[Read More]

Maternal test for Down's syndrome may reduce need for invasive diagnosis

New research suggests that Down's syndrome could be detected using genetic screening, avoiding the need for invasive detection procedures....[Read More]

Late motherhood causes steep rise in Down syndrome diagnoses

According to figures published in the British Medical Journal last week, the number of diagnoses of Down syndrome in babies and fetuses in England and Wales has risen by 71 per cent over the past 20 years. This is attributed to an increase in maternal age over this period. A concurrent increase in terminations of affected pregnancies as a result of improved prenatal screening methods has meant that numbers of live births with Down syndrome have fallen by one per cent, whereas they would have ...[Read More]

Early pregnancy gender test sparks controversy

A new test that can reveal an embryo's gender as early as the sixth week of pregnancy is being marketed via the Internet. The kit, sold by DNA Worldwide for £189, is non-invasive and only requires a sample of the mother's blood. The company claims the...[Read More]

Non-invasive pregnancy test shows promise

A new study offers 'proof of principle' for a non-invasive pregnancy test that can detect conditions such as Down syndrome using samples of the mother's blood. The findings, published online in the Lancet journal, show that the technique correctly diagnosed 58 out of 60 samples, with...[Read More]

New US guidelines for Down syndrome screening

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has recommended that all pregnant women should be offered screening for Down syndrome, regardless of their age. Lead author Dr Deborah Driscoll said last week that 'this new recommendation says that the maternal age of 35 should no...[Read More]

Progress in non-invasive pregnancy tests

Non-invasive prenatal tests to identify fetuses at risk of genetic disorders as early as the sixth week of pregnancy are now a reality, say British scientists. A team based at the Institute of Child Health in London and Bristol has successfully carried out simple blood tests...[Read More]

Women sue makers of embryo gender testing kit

Sixteen US women have filed a lawsuit against the makers of a home-testing kit that promises to determine the sex of an embryo as early as five weeks after conception. In a suit filed in the US District Court in Boston, the women claim that the test got the gender...[Read More]

Progress towards non-invasive prenatal tests

Scientists based at Hong Kong University have found a way to identify traces of fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's blood, bringing non-invasive prenatal testing a step closer. The researchers, who published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have developed a new technique for distinguishing...[Read More]

Concern over proposed prenatal screening changes

New recommendations for prenatal screening programmes to detect Down syndrome could lead to some chromosome abnormalities being missed, UK researchers say. A team based at Salisbury District Hospital looked at the likely effect of the proposal to scrap a type of testing called karyotyping in favour of newer, rapid methods...[Read More]

New non-invasive prenatal test shows promise

A new technique could provide an alternative to invasive pregnancy tests, researchers based in the US and Asia have shown. Using small amounts of fetal DNA present in the mother's blood, they have managed to carry out prenatal tests for the inherited blood disorder thalassaemia. The study appeared in the...[Read More]

Hope for non-invasive pregnancy test

US researchers have developed a new method for testing fetal DNA, which does not involve the use of invasive techniques such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS). The scientists, based at the biotech company Ravgen, have found a way to increase the amount of fetal DNA that can be...[Read More]

Call to offer amniocentesis to all women

Accurate prenatal tests for Down syndrome and other chromosome disorders should be made available to all pregnant women, not just those over 35, according to a new US study. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, evaluated the cost-effectiveness of invasive methods such as amniocentesis, and also surveyed 534...[Read More]

NICE recommends changes to antenatal screening

The UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health have published recommendations for the National Health Service in England and Wales on the routine care of healthy pregnant women. The NICE guidance includes advice on how many antenatal appointments each woman...[Read More]

Antenatal screening for Fragile X: time to proceed?

This week, a small team of experts recommended the establishment of a national antenatal screening programme for Fragile X syndrome. The report, commissioned by the NHS Health Technology Assessment programme, examined the public health aspects of screening for Fragile X and suggested that a screening programme aimed at all pregnant...[Read More]

Stem cells from womb fluid?

BioNews reporting from ESHRE conference, Madrid: The fluid that surrounds a developing foetus in the womb could be a rich source of stem cells, according to a new study presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Madrid last week. Researchers at the University of Vienna say...[Read More]

Better Down's screening could be offered

A report published last week says that many pregnant women in Britain are not offered the best available screening test for Down's syndrome. The report, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), says that tests currently being used are less efficient, more costly and mean that more women than necessary...[Read More]

Consultation launched in UK on embryo testing

A public consultation document on preimplantation genetic diagnosis - a so-called 'designer babies' procedure - was published last week by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), a statutory body which licenses infertility treatments in the UK, and the Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing (ACGT). The consultation period will last approximately four...[Read More]

New method of prenatal testing

Researchers have developed a complex computer program that could lead to a safer and more accurate prenatal test for disorders such as Down syndrome. Combining blood and ultrasound tests from the first and second trimesters of a pregnancy, the computer program can identify Down syndrome with only a one per...[Read More]

Prenatal blood test

British obstetricians announced at a conference last week that they are close to developing a prenatal test with no attendant risk of miscarriage. The team of doctors from Imperial College, London and Queen Charlotte's Hospital are currently working to perfect a procedure that would allow the detection of genetic and...[Read More]