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FRIDAY, June 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Noninvasive blood tests can predict gestational age and can identify women at risk for preterm delivery using cell-free RNA, according to a study published in the June 8 issue of Science<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Thuy T.M. Ngo, from Stanford University in California, and colleagues examined use of cell-free RNA transcript measurement in maternal blood for predicting gestational age.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the cell-free RNA transcripts predicted gestational age with comparable accuracy to ultrasound in a pilot study of 31 healthy pregnant women, at considerably lower cost. In a related study involving 38 women at elevated risk of delivering preterm (23 full-term, 15 preterm deliveries), seven cell-free RNA transcripts accurately classified women who delivered preterm up to two months before labor.<\/p>\n
“These tests hold promise for prenatal care in both the developed and developing worlds, although they require validation in larger, blinded clinical trials,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Several authors are inventors on a patent application submitted by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub that covers noninvasive estimates of gestational age, delivery, and preterm birth.<\/p>\n