Medical researchers at Columbia University have developed a very fast and cheap way to detect the extra or missing chromosomes that are most likely to cause a baby to be born with a serious birth defect.
The method requires less than two hours to use and costs $200 per use. Women can end up paying a lot of money for testing procedures.
The technique was developed by Dr. Zev Williams and his colleagues at the Columbia University Fertility Center. The main advantage is that the analysis can be done in the same office that obtained the material, and results can be ready in hours rather than days.
Outside studies are needed to confirm Dr. Williams's results. If the method were widely used, it would help more women understand why they lose their pregnancies. It would avoid long waits for results for women who have embryos tested. If a woman is pregnant with a fetus with amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, it is possible to get an abortion.
Long wait times for women are associated with current screening methods. Women who have had multiple miscarriages are the ones who have had the longest delay. The New York University Langone Fertility Center's program director, who was not involved in the new study, said that women may have to wait several weeks for their results.
Dr. Mark Hornstein is the director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
It is difficult to keep cells alive for a long period of time. We don't get growth often. The lab tells us that we don't have any cells.
The new test avoids these delays by using a method that is not used to look for chromosomal anomalies.
The preparation of DNA samples was modified by Dr. Williams and his team. Each segment should have at least one copy from each part of the body. If there are three copies, that means there is at least one extra chromosomes.
Extra or missing chromosomes can be fatal to embryo if they are not checked. Severe birth defects can be found in fetuses that live with them. Down syndrome is one of the most mild examples.
It's important for in-vivo fertilization. Older women are more likely to have chromosomal abnormality in an embryo. The risk for women 30 years old is 25 percent. At 42 years old, it is 75 percent.
Women who undergo I.V.F. have to pay for the testing of their embryo themselves. The embryos are frozen while they are being tested. The woman needs to wait for the next month to have her period.
Central labs get test results from embryo or fetus tests in about three to five days. The cells are tested sooner because they don't grow well in culture.
The new method allows for the same tests to be done on the same day.
There are a few states that allow abortions only during the first 15 or 18 weeks of a pregnant woman's life.
Between the 11th and 14th weeks, amniocentesis can be done. It might be too late in some states for a woman to have her baby if she waits days for test results.
They looked at 218 samples and compared their results to those from standard tests of the same samples.
There were no differences in the results foramniotic fluid and C.V.S. tissues. The standard test found an extra chromosomes 21 in one embryo, but the new test did not.
The clinical lab didn't have anything left to retest, so we can't determine which result was correct
The standard test was wrong when it came to the tests of 10 miscarriage samples.
A group of technicians were able to quickly learn to do the test and get the correct results.
Grifo said it was a good start. He said that he was confident that embryo testing would be 100 percent accurate.
The test was not ready for widespread use according to Dr. Hornstein. There needs to be independent studies that confirm that the results are correct, and there needs to be evidence that any lab can do it.
He expects the test to be widely used if those conditions are met.
The doctor said he hoped to offer the test at Columbia soon. He submitted his data to the state.
He said that they are ready to go once the approval is given.
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