Medical Center Researchers Lead Trial of New Prenatal Genetic Test

Findings published in NEJM show that microarray finds significantly more clinically relevant information than current method. Second study in NEJM shows significant advantages of microarray for stillbirths New York, NY-A large, multi-center clinical trial led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) shows that a new genetic test resulted in significantly more clinically relevant information than the current standard method of prenatal testing. The test uses microarray analysis to conduct a more comprehensive examination of a fetus's DNA than is possible with the current standard method, karyotyping-a visual analysis of the fetus's chromosomes. Results were published in the Dec. 6, 2012, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The prospective, blinded trial involved 4,400 patients at 29 centers nationwide; the data took four years to compile. The study involved women with advanced maternal age and those whose fetuses were shown in early screening to be at heightened risk for Down syndrome, to have structural abnormalities (as seen with ultrasound), or to have indications of other problems.