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Alpha-fetoprotein and down syndrome

Leila Montenegro Silveira Farah^I; Eugenia Costanzi^II; Raquel Joffe^I; Carlos Araujo Farah^III; Maria Eugênia da Silva-Fernandes^I

^ILaboratório de Citogenética Heleneide Resende de Souza Nazareth
^IILaboratório de Genética Bioquímica, Disciplina de Genética, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Caixa Postal 20363, 04023 São Paulo, SP, Brasil. Send correspondence to L.M.S.F.
^IIIHospital Amparo Maternal de São Paulo, 04040 São Paulo, SP, Brasil

ABSTRACT

We determined the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein by rocket immunoelectrophoresis in amniotic fluid obtained from second trimester pregnancies with several pathological fetuses according to their karyotype. We found low alpha-fetoprotein levels in 3 out of 6 fetuses with Down syndrome (trisomy 21). Two other fetuses with trisomies 13 and 18 showed alpha-fetoprotein levels similar to those detected in the amniotic fluid of fetuses with normal karyotypes.

Keywords: alpha-fetoprotein; down syndrome.

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