New single-cell prenatal blood test can identify genetic abnormalities

(Elsevier) Non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPTs) are used for fetal genetic disease screening in pregnant women. In contrast, invasive tests like amniocentesis carry the risk of causing fetal harm. A report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, describes the development of a single-cell DNA assessment method with high sensitivity and specificity. This noninvasive test enables direct extraction of genetic information from live fetal cells for simultaneous evaluation, thereby improving the likelihood of detecting a fetal anomaly.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news