Cell-free DNA testing of maternal blood in screening for trisomies in twin pregnancy: updated cohort study at 10-14 weeks and meta-analysis.

Objective: To expand the limited knowledge on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis of maternal blood for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 in twin pregnancy by updating the data from The Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) on prospective first-trimester screening and those identified in a systematic review of the literature.

Methods: The FMF data were derived from prospective screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 in twin pregnancies at 10 + 0 to 14 + 1 weeks' gestation using the Harmony® prenatal test. A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library), ClinicalTrials.

Placental function and fetal weight are associated with maternal hemodynamic indices in uncomplicated pregnancies at 35-37 weeks of gestation.

Background: Over the years, there has been an increasing interest in the assessment of maternal hemodynamic responses during pregnancy. With the use of both noninvasive devices and/or maternal echocardiography, it has been shown that mothers who have pregnancy complications have altered hemodynamics compared with those who have uncomplicated pregnancies. It also has been suggested that preexisting maternal cardiac changes might drive the development of complications in pregnancy that are associated with impaired placentation.

First-trimester screening-biomarkers and cell-free DNA.

Background: The introduction of cell-free DNA into clinical practice has changed the screening approach. Healthcare professionals and future parents tend to overestimate NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) capabilities despite its relatively high cost and limited information.

Objective: In this review, our aim was to survey how various countries have introduced contingent screening models and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the combined screening test and the use of NIPT.

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing beyond Trisomies.

The last decade has seen incredible advances in the genetic era, in next-generation sequencing of cell-free DNA in the maternal plasma, detecting abnormal fetal chromosomes. Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has showed increased sensitivity and specificity for Down syndrome superior to any other screening test. Technical advances have made possible the detection of other conditions which does not necessarily mean clinical benefit for the patient.

Screening for trisomies by cfDNA testing of maternal blood in twin pregnancy: update of The Fetal Medicine Foundation results and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To report on the routine clinical implementation of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis of maternal blood for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 in twin pregnancy and to define the performance of the test by combining our results with those identified in a systematic review of the literature.

Methods: The data for the prospective study were derived from screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 in twin pregnancies at 10 + 0 to 14 + 1 weeks' gestation. Two populations were included; first, self-referred women to the Fetal Medicine Centre in London or Brugmann University Hospital in Brussels and, second, women selected for the cfDNA test after routine first-trimester combined testing at one of two National Health Service hospitals in England.