Scientists in Europe report they were able to diagnose Down syndrome prenatally by giving a simple blood test to pregnant women, an approach that might one day help them avoid the more extensive procedure used now to detect the condition.
The preliminary report published online Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine is the latest of several recent studies that suggest scientists can spot Down syndrome through fetal DNA that has been shed into the mother's bloodstream.
Down syndrome, which results in cognitive delays, is caused by having an extra copy of a particular chromosome. Currently, pregnant women get blood tests and ultrasound to find out if the fetus is at risk for Down syndrome. For a firm diagnosis, doctors take a sample of amniotic fluid or the placenta.
Those sampling procedures involve a small risk of miscarriage. A reliable diagnostic blood test also could give an answer earlier than the standard tests.
The disruptions were also sex-specific — affecting donor liver cells of males and females in different...
A measure that would allow Texas residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers advanced to the...
Throughout the last two years, Gaza has faced widespread destruction as a result of Israel’s ongoing...
The U.S. is seeing a late summer surge in COVID-19 cases, tracking from the Centers for...
