Re: PAP smears as possible screening test for CF

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PAP smears as possible screening test for CF

> For information

>

>

> Pap smears reveal foetal problems

> By Tom Noble

> Health Editor

> July 8 2003

>

>

> Pap smears from pregnant women can reveal genetic defects in foetuses

> and may replace invasive screening procedures such as amniocentesis

> within two years, according to research revealed yesterday.

>

> Scientists at the University of Queensland have developed a technique

> that collects the foetal cells retrieved in a Pap smear, isolates

> them from the mother's cells and tests them for conditions such as

> Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis. The tests can also establish the

> sex of the child.

>

> Researcher Darryl Irwin said Pap smear tests were cheaper and safer

> than invasive techniques, in which a thin needle is inserted into

> amniotic fluid or tissue in the uterus, increasing the chance of

> miscarriage by up to 1 per cent. Such tests are recommended for women

> over 35, who have an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities such

> as Down syndrome. Almost 5000 n women had an invasive test in

> 2001.

>

> Mr Irwin, whose research with Dr Ian Findlay of the Australian Genome

> Research Facility was revealed at the International Genetics Congress

> in Melbourne, hoped the Pap smear test would be widely available

> within two years and be used to screen all women between eight and 12

> weeks pregnant.

>

> " Eighty per cent of Down syndrome babies are actually born to women

> who are not screened because they are not at high risk. They are not

> offered the test, " Mr Irwin said.

>

>

> He said Pap smear tests should cost less than $100 and the results

> were quick. Amniocentesis tests cost $400 and took days to return

> results.

>

> Mr Irwin said he had assigned all his intellectual property in the

> discovery, and possible financial gain, to the university. " The other

> benefit is that it is applicable to rural areas, which is really

> applicable to Australia. Amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling

> can be done only in major capital cities.

>

> " Someone in Charleville, for example, would have to fly to Brisbane

> or Sydney to get those procedures done, whereas a GP can take a Pap

> smear. It can be put in the mail, sent to a lab in one of those

> cities and the result can be sent back the next day. "

>

> If anyone showed positive results, an invasive test or ultrasound

> should be used to confirm the finding, he said. " The other benefit is

> we also do the cervical cancer screening at the same time. "

>

> More than 600 pregnant women in Brisbane, five to 34 weeks pregnant,

> had been tested in recent months, he said. About 1000 women would be

> tested this year and results would be compared with their babies,

> once born, to determine if the tests worked.

>

> A key part of the initial research was to find the stage of pregnancy

> that produced the clearest results.

>

> Mr Irwin said that in 1971 foetal cells were discovered in the cervix

> of pregnant women, but too few to do anything with. New methods found

> 0.3 per cent of cells were foetal, and a series of techniques have

> allowed researchers to isolate material made up of an average 37 per

> cent of foetal cells. By comparing a cell's DNA with the mother, the

> foetal cells are isolated and analysed.

>

>

> This story was found at:

> http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/07/1057430137476.html

>

>

> Leon

>

>

>

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> be construed as medical advice.

>

> PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE CHANGING ANY MEDICATIONS OR

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>

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