Latest Prenatal diagnosis Stories
By Andrew Pollack For three decades, scientists have been trying to develop a noninvasive prenatal test for Down syndrome that would replace amniocentesis, which can cause miscarriages. Now, scientists using powerful genetic techniques are closing in on that goal with tests that require only a blood sample from the pregnant woman. A biotechnology company in San Diego called Sequenom says it will begin selling such a test in June. Another testing technique, developed at Stanford, is...
Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:PDX) has completed the acquisition of Maternal-Fetal Group, PLLC, a physician group practice based in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides patient care for women with high-risk and complicated pregnancies. The group will practice as part of Obstetrix Medical Group, a maternal-fetal medicine national medical group that is part of Pediatrix. Maternal-Fetal Group consists of three physicians who provide patient care at three offices in the Nashville...
To: STATE EDITORS Contact: Wendy Bulawa, +1-978-994-1447; or Maureen Gallagher, +1- 617-449-0024 MELROSE, Mass., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its introduction by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan) in 2005, the Prentally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, (S. 1810) -- also known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill -- has become a rally cry from innumerable families of children with disabilities to provide support to parents and prospective parents who learn...
By Dixon, Darrin P ABSTRACT: Many women are unprepared to make prenatal decisions about fetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome because of societal pressures to have "normal" children, a negative view of persons with disabilities by many in society, a fear of legal liability by those in the medical community, the lack of genuine informed consent before undergoing genetic testing and abortion, and the failure of non-directive pre-abortion counseling in the medical community. Moreover, medical...
Researchers at Signature Genomic Laboratories recently published the first large-scale prospective study comparing the detection rate of chromosomal abnormalities--missing or extra pieces of DNA--by microarray analysis in prenatal cases to that of neonatal cases referred with a variety of clinical findings, including congenital anomalies. In the study, the findings of which will appear in the September issue of the journal Prenatal Diagnosis and were electronically published July 22,...
PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE: PKI), a global leader in Health Sciences and Photonics, today announced a one-year agreement with the Mexican Ministry of Health, la Secretaria de Salud, to expand its newborn screening program across Mexico. Under the terms of the agreement, PerkinElmer will provide instrumentation, reagents and screening expertise that will help the Ministry of Health screen for congenital hypothyroidism and triple its screening capacity. The expanded program began in May 2008. "We...
Antenatal screening services for conditions such as Down's syndrome do not always give parents the time needed to make decisions about their unborn babies, according to work done by Plymouth researchers. A report published yesterday by the universities of Plymouth and Ulster raises a number of concerns about the way antenatal screening is carried out across the country. The report concludes: "There are significant groups of parents who are being given insufficient opportunity to consider...
By Kate Foster EVERY pregnant woman in Scotland is to be offered an early and highly accurate test to see if their baby has Down's Syndrome. The combined ultrasound and blood test will be done up to two months earlier than at present and is 90 per cent accurate compared with 65 per cent for the current procedure. The new test - called nuchal translucency - will mean fewer women will need to undergo an invasive procedure to confirm Down's, which carries a risk of causing a miscarriage....
Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp®) (NYSE: LH), an industry leader in prenatal clinical laboratory testing, announced that it now offers Integrated screening and Sequential screening tests under license from Intema Limited. When Integrated screening and Sequential screening test results include a fetal ultrasound nuchal translucency measurement, the highest Down syndrome detection rates are achieved and fewer false positives are experienced than with current...
By Verrotti, C Benassi, G; Piantelli, G; Magnani, C; Et al Abstract The acrofacial dysostosis (AFD) syndromes are an heterogeneous group of disorders with undefined classification and inheritance. We report the sonographic and clinical features of an AFD fetus with predominantly pre-axial forms. We made a prenatal diagnosis of Nager syndrome but postnatal examination showed post- axial defects previously undetectable by ultrasound. Keywords: Acrofacial dysostosis, ultrasound, prenatal...
