BACKGROUND Cell-free fetal DNA (cff DNA) and RNA can be detected in maternal plasma and used for non-invasive prenatal diagnostics. Recent technical advances have led to a drastic change in the clinical applicability and potential uses of free fetal DNA and RNA. This review summarizes the latest clinical developments in non-invasive prenatal diagnosis in the context of the latest technical deve...

OBJECTIVES RASSF1A has been described to be differentially methylated between fetal and maternal DNA and can therefore be used as a universal sex-independent marker to confirm the presence of fetal sequences in maternal plasma. However, this requires highly sensitive methods. We have previously shown that Pyrophosphorolysis-activated Polymerization (PAP) is a highly sensitive technique that can...

In the broadest sense, noninvasive prenatal testing began in the 1970s, when the first articulatedarm diagnostic ultrasound machines produced two-dimensional images of fetuses in utero. Initially, the crude new imaging technology was eagerly adopted for the simple measurement of embryos, fetuses, and fetal parts to develop normative data for gestational-age determination. But as technology and ...

Although the birth experience has never been as safe for mothers and children as today, the puzzling pregnancyrelated disease called “preeclampsia” still occurs in 2–10% of all pregnancies. Despite some therapeutic progress, it is still one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal mortality in the developed and developing world. Preeclampsia, which usually occurs late in the second or, more ...

Successful detection of circulating nucleic acids has opened up new possibilities in cancer testing and prenatal diagnosis. Circulating DNA markers are useful in cancer detection, prognostication and monitoring. Cancer-associated molecular changes which can be detected include gene mutations, chromosomal rearrangements, microsatellite alterations, viral sequences, and, to be discussed in more d...

been demonstrated in cytotrophoblasts obtained from the placental beds of preeclamptic pregnancies (14). Increased incidence of apoptosis involving syncytiotropho-blasts has also been reported in preeclampsia (15). Further research on the correlation between fetal DNA concentrations and incidence of placental apoptosis may help to confirm this link. The potential clinical implication of our fin...

BACKGROUND Recently, apoptotic cells have been found in plasma obtained by centrifugation of blood from pregnant women, raising the question of what constitutes plasma and whether plasma is truly cell free. We compared the effects of different blood-processing protocols on the quantification, DNA composition, and day-to-day fluctuation of fetal and total DNA in maternal plasma. METHODS Blood ...

background: infection with parvovirus b19 may cause fetal losses including spontaneous abortion, intrauterine fetal death and non-immune hydropsfetalis. the aim of this study is to determine the frequency of parvovirus b19 in formalin fixed placental tissues in lost fetuses using real-time pcr method.   methods : in this cross-sectional study, 100 formalin fixed placental tissues with unknown c...