I've been reviewing the recent Wall Street Journal report by Christopher Weaver on the new prenatal testing for Down syndrome. Weaver reports on questions raised by the new testing. The accompanying video to the report (available above) distills the worry down to a few simple statements. But are these statements the real worry with the new prenatal testing for Down syndrome? Continue Reading
April 23, 2013
Non-NIPS tests for Down syndrome are “tarot cards”
Continuing the examination of Christopher Weaver's recent report on NIPS in the Wall Street Journal, one quote jumped off the page when I read it. Did you know that screening tests that are not NIPS are as helpful as "tarot cards"? Continue Reading
April 22, 2013
Worries about new prenatal screen for Down syndrome
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published a report on worries being raised about the new prenatal screening testing for Down syndrome. What are these worries (and are these the only ones worth reporting on)? Continue Reading
April 15, 2013
Is the ISPD statement unjustified?
Continuing the series of posts on the new International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis's (ISPD) policy statement on prenatal testing for aneuploidy, I will seek to answer the questions prompted by that statement. In doing so, it leads to the ultimate question of whether the ISPD statement is unjustified? Continue Reading
April 11, 2013
Does the ISPD have its own version of Voldemort?
The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) has issued a new position statement on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. I have reported on what the statement says in the past several posts. Now, we turn a critical eye to the statement to provide an ethical assessment of it. What is most glaring is what is not stated in the new statement. I wonder if the ISPD has it's own version of Voldemort. Continue Reading
April 10, 2013
The ACMG steps out from the crowd with NIPS policy statement
Along with the ISPD, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) issued its own policy statement on the newest form of prenatal testing for Down syndrome. The ACMG statement says some of the same things as the other professional medical organization positions, but it sets itself apart on several key points. Continue Reading
April 9, 2013
The ISPD has a serious concern about new prenatal testing for Down syndrome
The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) issued a policy statement that sets forth its position on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. The policy statement was prompted by the new prenatal testing for Down syndrome called Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS), where a mother's risk assessment is recalculated based on testing cell free DNA in her blood stream. ISPD has a "serious concern" about NIPS. Read on to find out why. Continue Reading
April 8, 2013
What is the optimal prenatal testing protocol for Down syndrome?
Last week, both the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) issued position statements on the latest developments in prenatal testing for Down syndrome. I selected highlights here. In this post, I cover what the ISPD statement claims is "optimal" for prenatal testing for Down syndrome. Continue Reading
March 28, 2013
The nonmaleficent role of NIPT
At last week's ACMG Annual Clinical Meeting, I presented a poster titled "The Ethics of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing." It turns out that the logic of my argument could very well be reflected in practice guidelines that are soon-to-be-released. I doubt the force of my abstract submitted last winter is to account for the change. But, it is a bit ironic that because NIPT will cause a test with risk to potentially have greater risk, NIPT has justified itself being inserted as a step before the test Continue Reading
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