α-Fetoprotein and the Prenatal Diagnosis of Central Nervous System Disorders
- 1 January 1976
- journal article
- review article
- Published by S. Karger AG in Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Vol. 2 (1), 1-23
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000119595
Abstract
The use of amniotic fluid α-fetoprotein measurements in the early prenatal diagnosis of central nervous system disorders is reviewed. The method is sensitive and specific and has had a pronounced effect on the counselling of mothers who have already had a child with spina bifida or anencephaly. Measurement of other amniotic fluid components, such as fetal macrophages, β-trace protein, α2-macroglobulin or fibrinogen-degradation products, is less reliable and these should not be used in making primary diagnoses. The assay of α-fetoprotein in maternal serum shows signs of being a useful preliminary screening process, and may identify pregnancies where amniocentesis and confirmatory amniotic fluid determinations should be offered.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Congenital vertebral anomalies: aetiology and relationship to spina bifida cystica.Journal of Medical Genetics, 1975
- Alpha1Fetoglobulin in the Diagnosis of Human HepatomaNew England Journal of Medicine, 1968
- Sites of Serum α-Fetoprotein Synthesis in the Human and in the Rat*JCI Insight, 1967
- Serum alpha-fetoprotein, albumin, and gamma-G-globulin in the human conceptus.JCI Insight, 1966