home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Time - Man of the Year
/
Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
/
moy
/
090792
/
09079916.000
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-04-08
|
1KB
|
34 lines
THE WEEK, Page 22HEALTH & SCIENCEPrenatal Assurance
New blood tests offer noninvasive screening for Down syndrome
It used to be that most children with Down syndrome, the
genetic abnormality that leads to physical deformity and mental
retardation, were born to women age 35 and older. For that
reason, many older expectant mothers now have amnio centesis to
see whether the baby's genes bear the telltale defects
associated with the ailment. The result is that fully 80% of
victims today -- in the U.S. at least -- are born to mothers 35
and younger. These women tend to avoid amniocentesis because for
them the risk of bearing kids with Down syndrome is
significantly lower than the risk from the testing procedure
itself, which can cause miscarriage.
That is why a report in the New England Journal of
Medicine is so significant: doctors in Maine and Rhode Island
have shown that by using three blood tests -- for substances
called alpha-fetoprotein, un conjugated estriol and chorionic
gonadotrophin -- they could determine which young mothers were
at highest risk for bearing afflicted children. The first test
alone predicts Down syndrome correctly 35% of the time, but all
three together boosted the rate to nearly 60%, thus targeting
women who are most likely to benefit from amnio.