Testing for Down Syndrome : lymphatic system of the fetus + Posted: 07-30-07 11:38am
My husband and I went in for our first OB
visit at 10 weeks, 6 days and had an
internal ultrasound performed (I do not
know how up to date the machine is since
we live in a small community) and we were
told that our fetus has a NT of 3.8mm. We
were informed that the normal is 3.0mm and
under. We were referred to the Maternal &
Fetal medicine department at the Toledo
Hospital for more tests. When I asked our
usual Dr. about our probability for a
Downs baby he could not give me one. I am
29 years old and my husband is 30years
old. I was wondering what our chances are
for a DS child is with the age and NT
reading? Also could it be that the
lymphatic system of the fetus was not
develpoed enough by this point to
adequately remove fluid?
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First Trimester of Pregnancy Answer A3210 Posted: 08-20-07 04:28am
Nuchal translucency (NT) is only one of
the parameters used for predicting
Down’s syndrome. NT is an ultrasound
parameter that is useful if it is measured
between the 10-14th weeks of gestation.
During this time of gestation, the fetal
lymphatic system is still not developed
enough to evacuate fluid from the back of
the neck. After the14th gestational week,
the fetal lymphatic system becomes
developed enough to remove the fluid even
if there is Down’s syndrome so the test
has no sense.
There are more parameters for predicting
Down’s syndrome such as:
alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), unconjugated
estriol (uE3), human chorionic
gonadotropin (HCG), inhibin A and
pregnancy-associated plasma protein A
(PAPP-A). All these parameters are
measured in the mother’s blood. A
mother’s age and the age of the
pregnancy are also very important
parameters in detecting and predicting
Down syndrome.
It is important to know that even the best
combination of ultrasound findings and
other blood parameters are only predictive
and not diagnostic. For a true diagnosis,
the chromosomes of the fetus must be
examined. That can be achieved by
performing an amniocentesis. However,
amniocentesis brings with it the risk for
miscarriage (1%) so it should be performed
only if the risk for Down’s syndrome
(according to the previous parameters) is
1 to 250 or larger.
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