Clinical Trial Is Favorable for a Prenatal Gene Test

A new method of prenatal testing that can detect more genetic problems in a fetus than ever before could be headed toward wider use after encouraging results from a clinical trial, researchers said.

The study, which is expected to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal soon, found that the new technique, microarray, surpassed standard testing in detecting chromosomal abnormalities that can cause problems like autism or mental retardation.

“The last 8 to 12 months have probably seen the greatest change we’ve had in prenatal screening and diagnostics since the development of amniocentesis,” which became popular in the 1970s, said Dr. Lee Shulman, head of reproductive genetics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

The new technique still requires fetal cells to be obtained either by amniocentesis, in which a long needle is stuck into the womb, or by another invasive procedure called chorionic villus sampling, in which tissue is taken from the placenta. But instead of then examining the fetal chromosomes under a microscope, a DNA-sensing chip is used to detect abnormalities too small to be seen...