Good News for Would-be Mothers: Early, Non-Invasive Method to Assess Down Syndrome Risk a Success

releases.usnewswire.com ^

[chance33_98]

Good News for Would-be Mothers: Early, Non-Invasive Method to Assess Down Syndrome Risk a Success

2/5/04 10:25:00 AM

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To: National Desk, Women's Health and Medical Reporter

Contact: Stacy Scarazzo of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, 202-367-1632

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A study unveiled today at the 24th annual Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) meeting brings hope to all pregnant women looking for an early, non-invasive way to assess their risk of delivering a baby with Down Syndrome. The trial reveals that measuring fetal neck fold thickness (nuchal translucency) by ultrasound, combined with a measurement of biochemical markers, is effective in the first trimester.

"This trial is the first in the U.S. to study Down Syndrome risk assessment in both first and second trimesters," said Dr. Fergal Malone, study author and SMFM member. "After testing 38,000 women, we found that nuchal translucency sonography, added to certain first-trimester serum markers, is the best way to assess Down Syndrome risk in the first trimester and has similar performance to second-trimester approaches."

The procedure uses an ultrasound picture of the fetus to measure the fluid accumulated behind the fetus's neck. If the neck folds are swollen with fluid, this can be an indicator of Down Syndrome. The woman may then choose to undergo more invasive procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. News of this method is especially important to the growing number of women waiting until after age 35 to have children. The chances of having a Down Syndrome baby increase after age 35, and at age 40 they are one in 110.

"Having a first-trimester, non-invasive method to assess each woman's risk for Down Syndrome will allow many women, initially perceived to be at high-risk because of their age, to avoid invasive fetal testing if the sonographic and serum markers are not detected," said Dr. Mary D'Alton, principal investigator of the study and former SMFM president. "This will also give pregnant women of all ages who prefer to avoid more invasive procedures a way to learn their personal risk level."

This new research, known as the FASTER (First and Second- Trimester Evaluation of Risk) Trial, expands upon the findings of more than 30 other studies, including the recent BUN (Biochemistry, Ultrasound and Nuchal Translucency) study from 2002.

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine will be offering training courses for individuals performing the procedure in the coming months. As obstetrician-gynecologists who have an additional two to three years education and clinical training, maternal-fetal medicine specialists (MFMs) are the premier source of information about high-risk pregnancies. For more information, or to locate an MFM in your area, visit http://www.smfm.org.

To interview the study authors or other maternal-fetal medicine specialists please contact Stacy Scarazzo at 202-367-1632 or Sanda Pecina, on-site in New Orleans, at 703-967-2676.

[mcg1969]

This is, of course, is good news only to people who would want to abort babies who aren't perfect.

[MediaMole]

Yup, nothing like a child with special needs to put a cramp in one's yuppie lifestyle.

[TomB]

Good News for Would-be Mothers: Early, Non-Invasive Method to Assess Down Syndrome Risk a Success

Good news for would-be mothers.

Bad news for would-be DS kids.

[Explorer89]

No kidding, I always rejected pre-natal testing on the theory that if God wanted me to raise a disabled child, he could always take one of my perfectly healthy children and drop him on his head.

Don't play dice with God.

[netmilsmom]

There is always a chance (no pun intended) that this will be wrong and a healthy baby will be aborted. One friend of mine was told that her baby would be horribly disabled. She said, "Then it is God's will." She now has a healthy 8 year old, who was perfect at birth.
There is also a chance that a baby with disabilities will be born. My neighbor is such a case. Her daughter has Angelman's Syndrome. It is a variation of the 15th chromosome. Nothing reveled it.

[pgkdan]

Good news for mothers...they can now have a non-invasive procedure to determine whether or not they'll rip their living child from their womb. Funny what passes for good news these days.

[ldjack]

It is also bad news for Would-be Mothers. My wife and I have two sons with Down Syndrome. One biological and one adopted.

When our son Sean was born, it was traumatic. We had no experience dealing with disabilities of any kind. We didn't know what to expect. We were afraid. With God's help and the prayers and support of family and friends, we sucked it up and moved ahead. Sean was such a joy to us that after a few years we adopted David. Now, we can't imagine our lives without them. Parents who are given an "easy" way out and take it, will have missed out on a precious gift. A gift sent back to God marked "return to sender."

[gcruse]

Don't play dice with God.

Does that include eschewing vaccinations, which thwart God's other creation, ie, infectious disease?

[madprof98]

Bet you knew the answer to that one without even asking! People like you have made "trolling" into a profession.

[gcruse]

I love watching the ad hominem and spewing, but a refutation, that ain't.

[TomB]

My brother, Jimmy, has DS.

God Bless you, your wife and your sons.