New prenatal test developed

Doctors in Italy have seized on the latest cloning techniques to develop what they say is a new, painless and more accurate method of screening foetuses for genetic anomalies.

Unlike amniocentesis, a risky test that involves inserting a large needle into the womb to draw off amniotic fluid, the technique developed by Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo and his colleagues at the University of Perugia consists in a simple blood test.

It involves cloning the minuscule amount of stem cells from the foetus that filter through into the mother's blood in order to increase their number and obtain enough DNA for the genetic analysis.

By analysing the foetus' stem cells, doctors are able to discover chromosome abnormalities, such as those that cause Down's Syndrome.

"Our test is one of the first practical applications of the latest developments in cloning techniques," Di Renzo told Deutsche Presse Agentur.

Previous alternative methods to amniocentesis that tried to analyse the mother's blood had failed because there were too few foetal cells available for analysis.

"From now on, a normal blood test will be sufficient to have all the foetal cells needed for the screening," he said.

Di Renzo said that as well as being less invasive and less dangerous than amniocentesis, his method is also cheaper and more reliable.

Once the blood sample is taken, around 10 days would be needed to obtain a result.

Currently under experimentation in Italy and Switzerland, the new technique should be widely available within the next year, Di Renzo said.

The Perugia University professor denied ethical problems arising from the cloning of stem cells but did acknowledge that his method could raise eyebrows at the Vatican, which opposes the use of prenatal testing.

"The fact that our method makes prenatal testing so much easier means many more woman are likely to want to undertake one," Di Renzo said.

Although amniocentesis is strongly recommended for pregnant women over the age of 35, younger women are also exposed to the risk of giving birth to a child with Down Syndrome, Di Renzo noted.