A 25-year-old pregnant woman, at 16 weeks of gestation, visits her obstetrician. A screening test suggests the possibility of a neural tube defect in her fetus. An ultrasound examination shows a 3-cm neural tube defect in the thoracic spine. The screening test that was administered to the mother measured serum levels of which of the following proteins?
Screening of pregnant women for serum AFP and examination by ultrasonography allow detection of virtually all anencephalic fetuses. Levels of the other proteins are not significantly affected by a neural tube defect in the fetus.Diagnosis: Neural tube defect, spina bifida
Albumin
Alpha-fetoprotein
Bilirubin
Chromogranin
Genetics