Hello list:
Why hasn't anyone commented on this?
I am so excited.
The embryo is from in vitro fertilization.
When I first saw this article, I could imagine the process
involved in sampling an early embryo
to get one cell, culture it, and obtain mitotic cells
for chromosomal analysis to detect Down syndrome.
I used to do that kind of tissue culture.
The embryo survives.
This would require very careful work, and careful nurturing of the cell.
But, the people who do in vitro fertilization are experienced in these techniques.
The embryo is from in vitro fertilization.
The cells Bush may soon outlaw.
The embryo is from in vitro fertilization.
And the embryo is NOT destroyed!
It is subsequently implanted to grow in utero,
and normal babies have been born.
What happens to the subsequent stem cell cultures once genetic analysis is done?
They are leftovers.
What could be done with the leftovers?
Guilt free research--
Guilt free therapeutic allogenic transplantation--
Guilt free in vitro manipulation into various tissue cell lines--
There are other possibilities I won't go into.
Ray
................................................................
Health Headlines
Sources: Reuters | AP | ABCNEWS.com | HealthSCOUT
Tuesday July 3 6:24 PM ET
New Test Said to Detect Down Syndrome in Embryos
By Patricia Reaney
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Australian researchers said on Monday
they have developed a DNA test that might allow doctors to detect Down
syndrome in embryos during infertility treatment.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that is usually diagnosed about 16
weeks into pregnancy using amniotic fluid taken from the mother.
The new test, presented at a European fertility conference, uses a single
cell to detect Down syndrome during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment,
before the embryo is implanted in the womb.
Scientists at the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development in
Melbourne said the test could allow couples undergoing preimplantation
genetic diagnosis (PDG) for other genetic disorders to determine whether
the embryo has Down syndrome.
``We want to be able to offer women over 36 years old the possibility to
eliminate Down syndrome,'' Mandy Katz, one of the researchers, told the
European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
The Australian scientists combined the Down syndrome test with PDG
screening for cystic fibrosis, a hereditary lung disorder caused by a
single gene. Early tests showed the Down syndrome test was accurate and reliable.
``Down syndrome occurs in 1 in every 700 live births and is seen in a
higher percentage of stillbirths and miscarriages. Consequently, the
availability of a highly reliable system that simultaneously detects the
inheritable gene disorder and Down syndrome would be beneficial to couples
at specific risk,'' Katz added.
She and her colleagues believe the Down syndrome test could also be
combined with PGD screening for other single-cell genetic disorders.
Down syndrome occurs when a baby inherits three copies of chromosome 21
instead of two. In this study, the researchers identified six areas on
chromosome 21 that could be used as markers to detect how many copies of
chromosome 21 are in a single cell.
They used the test to compare cells taken from healthy people and those
with Down syndrome, as well as from individual cells from embryos.
``The third chromosome was successfully detected in 94% of single cells,''
Katz said.
Down syndrome is marked by varying degrees of mental retardation, and
babies born with the disorder are at increased risk of certain health
problems such as heart defects and vulnerability to infection. The risk of
having a baby affected by Down syndrome increases as women age.
...............................................................
Ray Strand
Prairie Sky Design
-----------------( on the Edge of the Prairie Abyss )---------------
when the sky is clear
the ground is visible
49/dx PD 2 yrs/40? onset
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