Ramathibodi's breakthrough in cheaper cost detection of Down's syndrome before infant birth

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Ramathibodi's breakthrough in cheaper cost detection of Down’s syndrome before infant birth



BANGKOK: -- Ramathibodi hospital physicians have successfully achieved a breakthrough in screening for Down’s syndrome for pregnant women at lower cost.

The cost for such a procedure will be around 14,000 baht, half of the over 30,000 baht which is required to have samples sent overseas for testing.

This breakthrough will allow great savings as the country now no longer has to send blood samples abroad to be screened and will substantially reduce birth defects in infants.

Down’s syndrome is a genetic defect which manifests itself as an abnormal separation of the 21st pair of chromosomes.

The first symptoms can be detected as early as 10 weeks of gestation upwards by taking a 10 cc blood-sample from the mother to run DNA tests.

After that, one week will be needed for the genetic decoder to decipher the chromosome chains which will tell physicians if the fetus is afflicted with Down’s syndrome.

Associate Professor Dr Phanyu Phanburana of the Reproductive Technology Department of the Faculty of Maternal and Fetal Medicine at Ramathibodi hospital said this procedure produces greater accuracy and is safer, reducing the risk of miscarriage when compared to Amniocentesis where amniotic fluid is drawn from the womb and tested

He said Down’s syndrome not only affects intellectual faculty but sometimes has direct consequence on the cardiac system and the digestive track.

This will require operations to be performed. In many cases, victims with Down’s syndrome will be afflicted with Leukemia while many others live up to 60 years or more. Sometimes victims also suffer Alzheimer’s disease, so nothing is certain, he said.

The Royal Thai College of Obstetricians advices that all pregnant women, regardless of age, should have tests for Down’s syndrome carried out.

Thus far, pregnant women aged 35 years and higher are most aware of the issue and have had tests done which has resulted in a lower rate of Down’s syndrome in this group. Conversely, there is significant increase in Down’s syndrome among younger mothers, he said.

He stated that most cases of Down’s syndrome in the country are from younger mothers.

“This is mainly due to the fact that younger women are considered stronger and healthier with lower risks involved in pregnancy with many overlooking the possibility of Down’s syndrome until it is too late,” he said.

The screening procedure for Down’s syndrome at Ramathibodi hospital is expected to begin early in 2015.

The cost for such a procedure will be around 14,000 baht which is a massive saving over the 30,000 baht which had to be paid to send samples for an overseas screening, he said

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ramathibodis-breakthrough-cheaper-cost-detection-downs-syndrome-infant-birth

-- Thai PBS 2014-11-28

[HeijoshinCool]

In other news, WHO is asking Siriraj Hospital, self-proclaimed discoverers of the first Ebola vaccine, for tracking numbers for FedEx. The packet containing the requested documents validating Siriraj's research, seems to have been lost.

[Costas2008]

May be I'm wrong here, please correct me if so.

Did Ramathibodi hospital physicians have successfully achieved a breakthrough in screening for Down’s syndrome for pregnant women, or they just purchased the equipment required for that screening?

I don't think it's an achievement but an expense for necessary equipment long overdue in Thailand.

Again, may be I'm wrong.

[FangFerang]

In other news, WHO is asking Siriraj Hospital, self-proclaimed discoverers of the first Ebola vaccine, for tracking numbers for FedEx. The packet containing the requested documents validating Siriraj's research, seems to have been lost.

Can you provide a link for the story you paraphrased? The last entry I found was Oct 4, when the Siriraj Medical team was scheduled to take the antibody in person to the US to oversee its screening.

??

[Chris Lawrence]

My son is 31 today. Very sad experience at his birth, but he has turned out a wonderful man. Loves wrestling and went to New York a few years ago to watch a wrestling bout.

Very happy the Thais have improved their process time. Amniocentesis has its risks.

However, the diagnosis of Downs has its pitfalls. What do you do? But the chromosome test should also give an indication of any other illnesses?

The love you have with a Downs child/adult is unconditional.

I remember when Josh was about 13. We were at Port Kembla beach with a few mates. When Josh bonded with you he trusted you completely. A friend, Adam took very good care of Josh and his introduction into life. Adam being somewhat cool, was showing Josh how to perve on girls at the beach and not get caught. Both had sunglasses on and the understanding if one saw a nice girl they would let the other know. Well Josh spotted one girl and in his excitement of finding a beautiful young bikini clad girl and letting Adam know, Josh so excited started to nervously scream at Adam, "Adam, Adam, there’s one" to which the young girl smiled, but sent Adam into embarrassment. Adam then had to show Josh how to be cool using the sunglasses tipped down the nose when alerting your mate that a girl had been sighted. Once shown, Josh contained his excitement and was able to particpate in a common practice for beach goers.

The young fella was full of hormones, but I appreciated Adams respect and effort to help a young man with an art that most of us develop over time.

The advice I got from a specialist Doctor, was just treat the same as other kids, keep him away from quack doctors and love him.

[atyclb]

May be I'm wrong here, please correct me if so.

Did Ramathibodi hospital physicians have successfully achieved a breakthrough in screening for Down’s syndrome for pregnant women, or they just purchased the equipment required for that screening?

I don't think it's an achievement but an expense for necessary equipment long overdue in Thailand.

Again, may be I'm wrong.

it seems like they acquired the testing technology from a third party / country. just the savings in labor is significant. bio packing and shipping is also expensive. seems the article shoul read "r hospital lowers cost of test by doing it in-house"

sort of like claiming thailands breakthrough in more fuel efficient jet" buying efficient new airbus models

Edited November 28, 2014 by atyclb

[rickirs]

It looks like the so-called breakthrough is that the hospital finally bought the analysis equipment that was developed from medical advances made three years ago.

"In October [2011], a San Diego biotech company began offering an exceptionally accurate maternal blood test for Down syndrome that can be administered as early as 10 weeks, long before a woman looks visibly pregnant." - "Down Syndrome: With Breakthroughs in Testing, a Choice Becomes Tougher," Bonnie Rochman, 2011-11-29.

"A prenatal blood test that can detect Down syndrome in a fetus in early pregnancy is now available to doctors in 20 U.S. cities, says the developer of the test, Sequenom Inc." - "Prenatal Blood Test for Down Syndrome Available," by Shari Roan, 2011-10-19

[rickirs]

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May be I'm wrong here, please correct me if so.

Did Ramathibodi hospital physicians have successfully achieved a breakthrough in screening for Down’s syndrome for pregnant women, or they just purchased the equipment required for that screening?

I don't think it's an achievement but an expense for necessary equipment long overdue in Thailand.

Again, may be I'm wrong.

The hospital bought the analysis equipment.

[Mudlover]

It looks like the so-called breakthrough is that the hospital finally bought the analysis equipment that was developed from medical advances made three years ago.

"In October [2011], a San Diego biotech company began offering an exceptionally accurate maternal blood test for Down syndrome that can be administered as early as 10 weeks, long before a woman looks visibly pregnant." - "Down Syndrome: With Breakthroughs in Testing, a Choice Becomes Tougher," Bonnie Rochman, 2011-11-29.

"A prenatal blood test that can detect Down syndrome in a fetus in early pregnancy is now available to doctors in 20 U.S. cities, says the developer of the test, Sequenom Inc." - "Prenatal Blood Test for Down Syndrome Available," by Shari Roan, 2011-10-19

The OP seems to be very blasé about the choice facing parents who end up with a positive result from the screening test.

[Bluespunk]

"Sometimes victims also suffer Alzheimers disease, so nothing is certain, he said."

I'm fairly certain that we all can suffer from Alzheimer's disease regardless of whether we have Downs Syndrome or not.

[Bluespunk]

While I'm sure that knowing a child might be Downs helps parents prepare for the future I do worry how some parents might react to the news.

The surrogacy case a few months back had the despicable piece of faeces father calling for an abortion when he heard one child might have disability issues.

The right to know and the what the consequences of letting parents know must be a tricky line for doctors and health care workers to tread.

I don't judge the decisions parents may make and have no right to do so (my contempt for the surrogate case father comes from his more predatory habits, as were revealed as the story evolved), but the whole field must be an ethical nightmare for all involved.