It’s possible to test for genetic disorders one month into pregnancy?

Noninvasive testing method found by Wayne State University researchers provides accuracy of more invasive tests and can be used five to 10 weeks earlier than current modalities.

Scientists in Wayne State’s School of Medicine have conceived developments in prenatal technology that make it possible to test for genetic disorders a little more than a month into pregnancy.

WSU researchers have found that their noninvasive testing method — Trophoblast Retrieval and Isolation from the Cervix (TRIC) — not only provides the accuracy of more invasive tests but can also be used five to 10 weeks earlier than current testing modalities. With a retrieval technique similar to a Pap smear, TRIC isolates several hundred fetal cells that migrate from the placenta into the uterus. This method can be performed as early as five weeks into pregnancy.

WSU researchers have found that their noninvasive testing method not only provides the accuracy of more invasive tests but can also be used five to 10 weeks earlier than current testing modalities.

TRIC was first publicized in 2014 in studies led by principal investigator and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology D. Randall Armant, Ph.D. Armant’s co-principal investigator in the latest research is Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Sascha Drewlo, Ph.D.

Continuing their studies of obstetrical complications, the team’s next goal is to go beyond the proteins already tested and find novel biomarkers through global discovery screens.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering nearly 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 27,000 students.