Do We Really Need an Even Better Prenatal Test for Down Syndrome?
        
            By Chris Kaposy, 
                Impact Ethics
             | 05. 19. 2015
        
                    
                                    
                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                            
                              
    
  
  
    
  
          
  
      
    
             
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      The journal Clinical Proteomics recently published an article describing a new experimental prenatal test for Down syndrome that uses only a maternal urine sample. The test has been touted in the media as providing instant results with 90% accuracy. The promise of such a   test – if it ever comes to market – is that women could administer it at   home, early in pregnancy, with low cost.
 
      Prenatal testing for Down syndrome and other aneuploidies is a   rapidly advancing field. In the past few years, biotech companies have   developed prenatal Down syndrome tests that detect cell-free fetal DNA   in the pregnant woman’s blood. These tests have been dubbed   “non-invasive prenatal tests” because they provide highly accurate   results without having to resort to invasive tests such as amniocentesis   or chorionic villus sampling, which carry a risk of miscarriage. The   new urine test for Down syndrome, developed by the biotech firm MAP   Diagnostics Ltd., is the latest advance in a “corporate arms race” to   develop prenatal tests for Down syndrome that are accurate and less   invasive, cheaper, easier to administer...
  
 
 
  
 
    
    
  
   
                        
                                                                                
                 
                                                    
                            
                                  
    
  
  
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