Prenatal tests
An innovation in prenatal screening: starting from the 10th week of pregnancy, with a normal blood sample taken from the mother for analyzing fetal DNA, it is possible to diagnose Trisomy 21, 18, 13 and chromosome aneuploidy.
The information that the Prenatal test can provide concerns the risk of Trisomy 21, 18, 13 by measuring the quantity of fetal DNA, specific for the related chromosomes, which circulates free in maternal blood, but this does not rule out all fetal anomalies. Therefore, since it is not a diagnostic test, the doctor may decide to integrate the information provided by the test with other clinical and echography data.
The test may be requested by sector professionals for pregnant women starting from the 10th week of gestation. Based on a simple blood sample taken from the mother, it can be performed even in single or twin pregnancies (maximum 2 fetuses) after in vitro fecundation.
The very high reliability of the test significantly reduces the
risk of useless invasive diagnostic procedures (amniocentesis, villocentesis).
The scientific studies published confirm the high sensitivity of the test, in as much as it is the only prenatal screening used at London’s Fetal Medicine Center where the international organization (Fetal Medicine Foundation), dealing with verifying the reliability of the tests used in this delicate sector, has its premises.
The results of the test are available within two weeks from the date of sampling and, in a very clear and understandable way, they specify the specific risk for each trisomy. At the pregnant woman’s discretion, the sex of the unborn child may be indicated, too, and the X and Y chromosomes investigated for the presence of any correlated aneuploidy.