ANTENATAL SCREENING FOR ANEUPLOIDY

There are several methods of antenatal screening for aneuploidy, Most are aimed at the identification of women at increased risk of Down syn drome, the most common abnormal karyotype conferring a significant ris k of serious long-term morbidity, Traditional maternal-age-based scree ning has largely been replaced by programmes based on biochemical mark ers in maternal serum in the second trimester of pregnancy. However, i n recent years there has been a considerable drive towards earlier scr eening such that there are now a range of potential programmes based o n various combinations of maternal age, serum markers and ultrasound f indings. There is currently much debate as to which are the most effec tive methods of screening for aneuploidy. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.