Sunday, 12 January 2020

NIPT: Screening & daig tests for foetal chromosomal & genetic abnormalities

Don’t sleep and wait till NT scan reveral some aberrations!!!! Because we  now know that  foetal DNA and RNA   can be   detected in maternal blood  as early as  from  5  weeks of gestation.  Do you believe this???   
What is new in Methods of prenatal diagnosis ? Foetal   cells  recovered  from maternal blood   provide  the only source   of pure fetal DNA for NIPT.  : Many disorders have already     been successfully diagnosed or excluded in utero. Statistical value ( Cell free foetal DNA,  NT scan, Double marker, Quadruple tgets, & TIFA, Foetal Echo):-But definitive tets are from     1) chorionic  villus sampling  2) amniocentesis & umbilical vein   sampling

 Is amniocentesis  is the most  exploited invasive tets globally in the female population with the aim to exclude or substantiate A)  chromosomal  disorders  in the fetus , but also B)  infections and  C) genetic diseases? Ans:-Possibly yes, Doctors are too worried and insist on this tets to be very sure .As result much such invasive costly procedure is done daily across the globe. Prenatal   diagnosis is the branch of medicine and in particular of obstetrics that studies and applies the techniques   that reveal  the normality  or the presence  of disease of various   kinds . In the fetus all the techniques   of prenatal   diagnosis   are performed    during pregnancy   and may be invasive or less. Among  the best  known amniocentesis  is the most  exploited technique  nowadays  to highlight the  possible  presence of A) chromosomal  disorders  in the fetus , but also B)  infections and  C) genetic diseases such as 1)  thalassemia  2) cystic fibrosis   3) hemophilia  spina bifida 4) albinism . However the method of amniocentesis  consists  of taking an amniotic fluid sample which  is then analyzed . Foetal cells suspended   in the withdrawn  liquid   allow us to reconstruct  the chromosome map of the   fetus and  then to confirm or not its normality .

Limitations of genetic testing :-- Genetic testing:-   However   Genetic testing  are not able   to recognize the physical or mental characteristics  of the   unborn child which are the result of the interaction   between  multiple genes  and the environment   . Amniotic fluid makes possible to perform    other types   of analysis more or less complex    and it is also possible to store    the amniotic fluid   makes  possible to store  the amniotic  stem cells.

Chorionic  villus sampling :---CVS is  similar   to amniocentesis as a  principle but different as a   technique   is chorionic  villus sampling in which the cells can be  put in culture  to show their normality but they are  cells taken   outside from the gestational chamber  . Both techniques    are invasive   techniques but  there are also noninvasive   techniques. The development of ultrasound for example has   made it possible   to develop   some highly   sensitive   diagnostic techniques, such   as the first trimester    combined test the quadruple test and lately   the SCA  test in the  second trimester all based on the ultrasound  measurement   of  anatomical   and functional parameters  of the fetus   and on the results   of blood tests. These are all   screening   tests then they do not give a definite answer but they have a statistical value    that can direct   toward  diagnostic  tests.

What is cffdna test in maternal blood?  Recently an extremely sensitive test  for the most   common aneuploidies   and in particular.   Down syndrome  has been  proposed to be performed  on maternal blood.  This test   is based  on the count of fragments of specific   chromosomes in maternal   blood  although   not belonging to diagnostic  tests but to probabilistic ones  this test is absolutely the most accurate so far available  with values  around 99.99%   sensitivity and 0.2%   false   positives   . Also   ultrasound  in th second  trimester  of pregnancy      that can  detect  any malformation or fetal abnormality and fetal   echocardiography   which   analyzes sonographically the fetal heart  not only anatomically but also  from the dynamic functional point of view may be  considered   methods of prenatal diagnosis. This technique   cannot  identify  genetic   diseases.

Role of Molecular genetics ?? Ans:- The  phenomenal developments  in molecular genetics and technological  refinements which    have occurred  over the past  decades have    revolutionized   the area of prenatal genetics  , state of the  art care   commences  with  comprehensive   preconceptional  counseling  .

Conclusion:- Prenatal  diagnosis is now feasible  from the moment   of conception    onward   . Imaging   techniques   have allowed non invasive   diagnosis   while minimally invasive techniques concentrate on sampling   maternal   blood for fetal cells or markers of feto placental metabolism.
Invasive  techniques   have been   rapidly expanding   and becoming safer  comprising   of  A) chorionic   villus  sampling   B) early amniocentesis or C)  midtrimester   amniocentesis  as well as very early  fetoscopy and umbilical vein   sampling Advances in prenatal  diagnostic   techniques   allow for   earlier more   rapid and more   effective detection of congenital  disorders  Recent   advances  in non invasive   detection  methods such as fetal    ultrasound    and the isolation   of fetal cells in the maternal circulation   allow the intrauterine  diagnosis  of congenital infections and chromosomal  and Mendelian disorders  as well as   hematologic disorders.
We   currently have the potential  to diagnose a number of others for which the opportunity has not yet arisen. If a A)  biochemical B) morphologic  C)  chromosomal or D) genetic:-deoxyribonucleic acid    alternation is known  for a specific condition   and is likely to be expressed in one of the fetal  tissues or secretions attempt    at prenatal diagnosis    is reasonable .

Forget CS /Lap ports!!!! Know what are gene probes???? Development  of specific  gene  probes  ::Diagnosis of inherited   disorders  in utero :--  Our   ability to    detect  the inherited   disorders  in utero   will continue to improve  both in the number of   specific  disorders   successfully diagnosed or excluded  and in the increasingly earlier  stages  of pregnancy  at which    the disorder can be detected. Non invasive  prenatal   testing   and non invasive approach   involves   analysis of   cell  free fetal   DNA  in maternal  plasma   or serum . Another   approach   utilizes fetal cells  within the  maternal circulation   as a source  of fetal DNA. 
Advances in instrumentation have decreased the risk   of the invasive    methods of prenatal diagnosis   and improvement   in non invasive methods  such as maternal  serum screening  may eliminate the need  for invasive procedures  altogether   .

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