Screening for trisomy 21 by maternal age, fetal nuchal translucency and maternal serum biochemistry at 11-14 weeks: a German multicenter study.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of screening for trisomy 21 by a combination of maternal age, fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness and maternal serum biochemistry using free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) at 11-14 weeks of gestation.

Methods: This was a multicenter study of screening for trisomy 21 by a combination of maternal age, fetal NT and maternal serum free beta-hCG and PAPP-A at 11-14 weeks of gestation, using the methodology developed by the Fetal Medicine Foundation. The distribution of estimated risks for trisomy 21 was determined and the sensitivity and false-positive rate for a risk cut-off of 1 in 300 were calculated.

Screening for trisomy 21 by fetal nuchal translucency and maternal age: a multicenter project in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of screening for trisomy 21 by a combination of maternal age and fetal nuchal translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Methods: This was a multicenter study of screening for trisomy 21 by a combination of maternal age and fetal nuchal translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. All the sonographers involved in the study had received The Fetal Medicine Foundation Certificate of Competence in the 10-14-week scan.

T4 levels in methylxanthine-treated premature newborns.

The respiratory stimulants caffeine and theophylline are able to control apneic spells in premature newborns. However both substances have goitrogenic properties in rats on low-iodine diet. They lower T4 serum levels and inhibit TSH- and GH-release probably by enhancing hypothalamic somatostatin secretion.