New Technique To More Quickly Detect Down Syndrome In Fetuses

Down Syndrome In Fetuses

A group of physicians from Singapore and the United Kingdom recentlydeveloped a new test that can detect within two hours whether a fetushas Down syndrome, Singapore's Business Times reports.The new FlashFISH test is a modified version of the existing StandardFISH test, which provides results in 24 to 48 hours. Another procedure,called karyotyping, delivers results between eight and 21 days,according to the Business Times (Khin, Business Times, 8/17).

BothFlashFISH and Standard FISH involve inserting a needle through thepregnant woman's abdominal wall to draw amniotic fluid from the womb,Singapore's Straits Timesreports. FlashFISH requires two milliliters of fluid to be drawn,compared with five milliliters in standard tests. Doctors then examinefetal cells in the fluid by maneuvering a molecular probe directly intothe cells' nucleus, according to Mahesh Choolani -- the project's leadresearcher and assistant professor at the National University of Singapore'sDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The probe is a tiny portion ofDNA that can attach to a matching sequence in the fetal cell andidentify whether it is abnormal, the Straits Times reports.

Choolanisaid the test has proved to be 99% accurate in detecting Down syndrome.Researchers said the new technique carries the same risk of miscarriage-- about one in 100 -- as the traditional tests because it involvesinserting a needle into the womb. FlashFISH, which has been patented bySingapore-based INEX Innovations Exchange, is expected to be availableat Singapore's National University Hospital by the end of the year, the Straits Times reports.

Choolanisaid the test particularly will be useful for women who become pregnantafter age 35 because they are more at risk for having a child with Downsyndrome (Young, Straits Times, 8/17). "Waiting for testresults can cause a lot of anxiety in couples," Choolani said, adding,"[W]e decided to develop an alternative technique that requires ashorter waiting time" (Chuah, Today/ChannelNewsAsia, 8/17).

Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view theentire Kaiser DailyWomen's Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for emaildelivery at kaisernetwork.org/email. The Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, afree service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.