Simple Blood Test can Predict Risk of Down’s Syndrome

A simple blood test in a pregnant woman could reveal whether the baby is suffering from Down’s syndrome

A simple blood test in a pregnant woman could reveal whether the baby is suffering from Down’s syndrome, a new report published in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine said.

Researchers from Cyprus, Greece and England revealed that the possibility of the baby suffering from the condition could be found out by identifying the fetal DNA that has been shed into the blood stream.

Down Syndrome - Trisomy 21, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Down Syndrome is a congenital disorder among children commonly born to older mothers. The condition is also known as ‘Up syndrome’ because of the cheerful persona of the Down children.

Currently the most efficient of detecting the condition pre-natally is by analyzing the sample of amniotic fluid or the placenta. However there is a risk of miscarriage when the sample is being extracted.

“The approach described here has opened the way for non invasive prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome to be potentially employed in the routine practice of all diagnostic laboratories and be applicable to all pregnancies”, one of the researchers, Dr Philippos Patsalis said.

Genetic Counselling - Steps GeneticInheritance Risks Conclusion
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general info about Genetic counseling

Source-Medindia

About Genetic Testing
Genetic testing helps to confirm a genetic condition in an individual and involves q complex laboratory techniques