The Reliability of Maternal Serum Triple Test in Prenatal Diagnosis of Fetal Chromosomal Abnormalities of Pregnant Turkish Women

Sleep quality and obstructive sleep apnoea and triple screen test results in pregnancy

In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between sleep quality, sleep apnoea and triple screen test results. This was an observational descriptive research study. The STOP questionnaire and the STOP-BANG questionnaire were performed to assess obstructive sleep apnoea risk and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to evaluate sleep quality. The average Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of the participants was 5.92 ± 3.26. According to the STOP test, 11.40% (87) of the pregnant women had a high risk of OSAS, and, according to the STOP-BANG test, 32 participants were under high risk of OSAS. An increased risk was detected in 1.30% of the participants in terms of Trisomy18 and in 1.60% in terms of neural tube defects. A direct and significant relationship was detected between Trisomy 21 risk and STOP-BANG score. This is the first study to show this relationship. Sufficient evidence needs to be collected on this issue. Testing in earlier weeks of pregnancy and in the conception period may allow more meaningful assessment of the relationship of OSAS with chromosomal abnormalities.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? There is a link between OSAS and epigenetic changes. Components of the triple screen test, levels of serum total β-hCG and unconjugated oestriol are increased in OSAS.What do the results of this study add? An increase in Trisomy 21 risk is correlated with increased OSAS risk. Alpha Fetoprotein levels were higher in the low OSAS risk group.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? This is the first study to show this relationship. Sufficient evidence needs to be collected on this issue. Treatment of OSAS may be necessary during pregnancy.

Inheritance of a Chromosome 3 and 21 Translocation in the Fetuses, with One also Having Trisomy 21, in Three Pregnancies in One Family

The majority of chromosome rearrangements are balanced reciprocal and Robertsonian translocations. It is now known that such abnormalities cause no phenotypic effect on the carrier but lead to increased risk of producing unbalanced gametes. Here, we report the inheritance of a translocation between chromosomes 3 and 21 in a family with one of two fetuses with Down Syndrome carrying the same translocation and the other also carrying the same translocation without the additional chromosome 21. Chromosomal analysis from fetal amniotic fluid and peripheral blood lymphocytes from the family were performed at the Çukurova University Hospital at Adana, Turkey. We assessed a family in which the translocation between chromosomes 3 and 21 segregates: one of the three progenies carried the 47,XX,+21,t(3;21)(q21;q22) karyotype and presented with Down Syndrome; another of the three progenies carried the 46,XX,t(3;21) (q21;q22) karyotype and the third had the 46,XY karyotype. Their mother is phenotypically normal. Apparently this rearrangement occurred due to an unbalanced chromosome segregation of the mother [t(3;21)(q21;q22)mat]. This family will enable us to explain the behavior of segregation patterns and the mechanism for each type of translocation from carrier to carrier and their effects on reproduction and numerical aberrations. These findings can be used in clinical genetics and may be used as an effective tool for reproductive guidance and genetic counseling.