CVS (chorionic villus sampling) is a test carried usually carried out between the 11th and 14th week of pregnancy, in which a few cells of the placenta are removed for biochemical or genetic testing. This is most commonly to check a fetus for conditions such as Down’s syndrome and other chromosomal or genetic disorders.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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