Talk:2010 Group Project 3: Difference between revisions

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--[[User:Z3292208|z3292208]] 11:07, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
Hey Mark
I just read in an article i was reading they make a comment about risks and they list a few but highlight that there are risks for the fetus and risks for the mother:
# Fetal complications = deaths from abruptio placentae,infection, fetal haemorrhage, and puncture of the fetus.
# Maternal complications = maternal haemorrbage, peritonitis, rhesus isoimmunization, and premature labour.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4255487
If you wanna have a look and maybe add to your section?


--[[User:Z3292208|z3292208]] 02:44, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
--[[User:Z3292208|z3292208]] 02:44, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Revision as of 22:07, 11 September 2010

Co-ordinator Comments
--This is an area for members of the group to communicate online and to place links and information relevant to the project. Do not forget to sign your additions and always add the newer material to the top of this page.

Projects: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Students Page | Help:Editing Basics



--z3292208 11:07, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey Mark

I just read in an article i was reading they make a comment about risks and they list a few but highlight that there are risks for the fetus and risks for the mother:


  1. Fetal complications = deaths from abruptio placentae,infection, fetal haemorrhage, and puncture of the fetus.
  1. Maternal complications = maternal haemorrbage, peritonitis, rhesus isoimmunization, and premature labour.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4255487


If you wanna have a look and maybe add to your section?


--z3292208 02:44, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Yeah more detailed paragraphs sounds good, but as a summary the table is spot on.


--Mark Woods 02:41, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

yea i no wat u mean, ive confused myself a bit with wat is actually relevant to put in. I was gonna hav an intro, but how bout also paragraphs explaining the main ones? thats better place to puts pics of the chromosomal disorders n stuff.

--z3292208 22:21, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

hey mark,

table looks good, i thought it might be more detailed but i guess that covers everything. you should put some more references in though, im still working on mine, and also you referenced a website i used a couple times, on the how to reference page there's a way to put multiple references in the page from one link so check that out.

also some pics would be cool for the disorders if you could find them? im gonna try find some pics for my history section, im in the process of getting permission to use a picture of cells with a Barr body, the part that shows the sex of the fetus, which Murray Barr discovered.

Oh and yeah maybe put a column in for Type thatd be good.

Anyways our page isnt looking as good as last years! i guess its missing a third of it though...


--z3254753 03:56, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

guys im working on the table, im not sure bout the columns, maybe i shud have Disorder, Type(chromosomal), Cause, Diagnostic rate using amniocentesis?

suggestions?

also tegan, maybe a headshot of a couple of the scientists? ur section looks finished, so that idea is only if ur at home bored :P

--z3254753 02:16, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

u guys shud check out all the intructions just to make a table haha

--z3254753 00:36, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

aight il hav most of disorders done tonight, but il put it on the project page tomo

thats kinda what ive bin doin, i gave a lil intro to it before the table.

--z3292208 22:38, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey mark yeh a table is a good idea how about having quite a simplified table first just showing the different chromosomal and neural tube defect just as a little summary then after it have headings and go into all the detail? you could also add a picture column in the table for each disorder? or put that with the bulk of info either way i guess. sounds good tho!


Hey 312 how are you going with your section? Im getting worried not seeing a draft or anything of yours since its due monday! Let us know how you're going please!


Tegan.


--z3254753 06:16, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

hey guys,

with disorders, I was thinking bout doing a table. ive got an intro n separate the disorders into chromosomal abnormalities and neural tube defects to talk bout in paragraph form, but i was thinking of a table to show the different disorders. what do you think? Or do u think i shud stil go through the main ones individually n then hav the table?

also, a table wud break up all the paragraphs :P

--z3254753 08:42, 7 September 2010 (UTC) yea, its stil not working, cud b somethin wit my computer not sure. its just not letting me edit the project page, im tryin to put the refernces in to risks.

which is also weird coz im having no trouble rditing this discussion page.

--z3292208 07:20, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Are you testing the page mark? lol. still having troubles with the site?


--z3254753 07:08, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

hey, the added section is great. I was gonna go through wat is being looked for for each of the disorders i look at (e.g the presence of an extra 21st chromosome). for some reason its not letting me change my risk section, so ill keep going with my other section n come back to it and itll hopefully work.

--z3292208 07:00, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Just putting this here for myself:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2035329/

--z3254753 07:03, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

haha just read through it, yea the sentence cuts out, thatnks for proof reading. ill check out ur section soon, my computer has decided it doesnt want to open our project page

--z3292208 06:46, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey also i added more detail to the end of my procedure section just about how they treat the sample once it gets to the lab and chromosome mapping etc, do you wanna read it and tell me if it makes sense to you and isnt too much science lingo or hard to understand at all?

Thanksss


--z3292208 06:44, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Yeah that sounds good you can still have a section on miscarriages and just mention that it is the common result of all the other complications. Just to make it a bit clearer for people who dont know anything about it.

But yeh it looks good otherwise! yeah that one line i was just like what that doesnt make sense lol

Oh and i just mean that sentence about the mothers immune response did you forget something on the end of it or something? I just dont understand it is all


--z3254753 06:40, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

whoops that was from the draft lol i confused myself reading the study.

and i kinda rushed my section on the rhesus factor, i just went off wat ive learnt before. il go back over and make it more clear.

I wasnt sure whether to make miscarrages its own section because its connected to all the risks, its like the ultimate bad result for all the risks, thats why i thought it should go in the intro.

I will fix up the intro, seperating into actual introduction and miscarriages, wat do u think?


--z3292208 06:30, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey also what did you mean in the top bit where you said "This cannot be attributed to the procedure of amniocentesis."?


--z3292208 06:28, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey I had a look, looking good. That first section though it sort of was a bit confusing when i first read it, maybe put an intro to risks and then a subheading just about miscarriages and what causes them (uterus contracting etc) and put those stats in there? The physiological risks is really good, its really clear and easy to read.

This sentence doesnt really make sense when i read it:

"A transfer of blood would stimulate an immune response by the mother against the different blood type, the result being that the mother’s own immune system."

But yeah other than that its good!

Tegan.

--Mark Woods 06:17, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

just uploaded risks. definitely needs pictures or something to break up the text.

wat do u guys think?

--z3292208 04:02, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Yeh i dont mind slipping it into mine unless you can elaborate on it and it fits well in yours? Maybe we can decide once both sections are up and have a look. But in that article in the results section its got some good statistics for you about still births and miscarriages.

--z3254753 03:55, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

thanks for the reference help :)

and i think it does fit better under eligibility, it works under my section as well because its about reducing unnecessary risk, but in this case we should keep it all together.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2464303/

look through this and see whether it fits in your section, no rush.


--z3292208 03:42, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Dammit i dont know how to put the reference in without it making an actual reference lol but have a look in the edit version!


--z3292208 03:40, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Okay so here is what you put in the page where you want the reference [1] but you put the pubmed article number in the middle and when you save it all the details appear at the bottom reference section on the page.

That abstract is good, i guess from that we can say something like "As observed in a study carried out in the period 02-05 it can be seen that an increased risk of Down syndrome is a major reason that most women choose to take the amniocentesis test, compared to suspicious ultrasound findings which was not listed as the basis for many womens choices. And then reference that article.

But about that, where it says "increased risk of Down syndrome" do they mean increased risk due to the mother being over 35? If you reckon thats what they mean we should probably write that instead, like write the cause of the increased risk you know.

But yeh not sure did you want to add this into your risk section? Do you think it fits? I can put it in my section where i covered whose eligible for the procedure and you can focus more on the risks and the things that could go wrong like miscarriage and all that. What do you think?

--Mark Woods 03:26, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

this is an abstact:

This is a retrospective review of case notes of all pregnant women undergone amniocentesis in our department during the period 2002-2005. Two main operators performed the procedure, using 22 gauze needle usually and 20 gauze should longer needle was needed. Sevendy three patients undergone amniocentesis. The reasons for having this procedure were: increased risk for Down syndrome in 68% (50/73), maternal request in 24% (18/73), suspicious ultrasound findings in 4% (3/73) and family history in 3% (2/73). Maternal age ranged from 20 to 45 years and the gestation time that amniocentesis was performed was 15 to 23 weeks. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and culture were used in order to obtain karyotype results

--z3292208 03:40, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

What do you mean, percentage of mothers having children over 35 and women with histories of genetic disorders and all that? Like statistics from a specific study?

For pubmed references go to the page in edit version and have a look at what i put for it, you copy and paste that and just put in the pubmed number for the article you used where the number is in the middle. The other references you have to write it out but have a look at the how to reference on the site down the left hand side.


--z3254753 03:19, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

ur rite about repeating urself. I found some research where they give percentages of occurence of each reason. I guess this allows me to be slightly more specific or technical which is should be expected from my section. what do you think.

how did u do the references?

--z3292208 03:50, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey Mark thats looking really good! The emotional state of the mother part is heaps good i didnt realise you could find out specific hormones but thats really interesting. That beginning bit though about the guidelines present to assess whether a mother is in a top priority for the procedure I covered in my section so maybe we shouldnt repeat ourselves or it will sound a bit repetitive? I guess you could just mention there are certain women more suited to the procedure due to the number of risks but maybe focus more on what causes the miscarriage if it occurs?

Also we can put more than one student drawing but i think we need at least one. We do need more pictures in it though.

Hey 312, how are you going with your section?

Tegan.

--z3254753 14:25, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

general outline for risks.

Risks There are risks involved in the procedure of amniocentesis. There is a chance, however small, of a miscarriage As stated before, only certain people should undergo the procedure because of these reasons. This involves: • Maternal age is considered, women older than 35 are at a higher risk of having children with chromosomal disorders.[2] • History of chromosomal disorders in the family, testing if the parents are Rh positive or Rh negative.[3] • History of previous children born with a genetic defect. These guidelines allow for properly measuring the risk of the procedure against knowledge that can be gained from it. A doctor or genetic counsellor should be consulted prior to the test.

Timing

Amniocentesis should be performed at a time when enough amount amniotic fluid can be taken for diagnosis without affecting the course of the pregnancy. Generally, this is around weeks 15 -19. As indicated under the procedure section.

Infection

There is a risk of infection with amniocentesis. It is intrusive as it requires contact to be made with the amniotic fluid by a needle through the skin, abnormal wall and uterine wall. The transfer of bacteria can occur if the needle and area of needle insertion into the lower abdomen of the woman are not properly sterile. This risk is lowered by all persons involved in the procedure properly washing their hands and working in a sterile environment. Swabbing the area where the needle is inserted is the most common method of keeping these areas clean. This also leads to the possibility of transfer of blood plasma from the foetus to the mother. This can cause major issues in the instance where the rhesus (Rh) factor of the baby is positive and the mother is negative. A transfer of blood would stimulate an immune response by the against the different blood type, the result being that the mother’s own immune system.

Foetal contact

The chance of the needle hitting the developing foetus is a risk factor. This can be avoided by constantly using ultrasound o see the position of the developing foetus. Psychological Risks

The emotional state of the mother can have affects on the outcome of the pregnancy. Learning if the baby has conditions can lead to an emotional state such as depression and anxiety. These are the effects of results that amniocentesis gives these social issues. These can elevate levels of certain hormones which imbalances the pregnancy such as citrol, influencing concentration levels of others in the blood, activating receptors, release of adrenaline, effects on blood pressure and nutrient supply to the baby.

tegan, i stole one of ur paragraphs, just coz it fit so well. il change it wen i put it on the assignment page. il better explain the hormonal changes due to stressed, thats fine. Ill put this up on the page, along with its references n then disorders by thursday night.

Risks are covered pretty well in ur procedure section Tegan, so i refer to it a few times :P


--z3254753 23:38, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

hey the drawing is really good!

Did we only need one student drawing?

--z3292208 03:51, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey yeh it was good, altho only half the class turned up.. The week after the break we have a new lecturer whose taking the lectures and lab too. Let me know if u think the drawing I did is ok :)


--z3254753 06:35, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

how was the lab yesterday guys? soz i missed it


--z3292208 00:43, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

history links:

procedure links:


--z3254753 22:48, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

N yea uploading mine in the mid sem break =)


--z3292208 09:28, 31 August 2010 (UTC) Hey Mark the breakdown for risks and disorders looks like a good structure, looks like you'll cover everything.

--Z3129413 01:05, 31 August 2010 (UTC)z3129413 will be working on page all day wed and will be online here.

--Mark Hill 00:46, 31 August 2010 (UTC) You have the major headings and some content added to some sections (but not all) on your project page. I cannot see any additional resources, images that you have sourced from other scientific sources, nor the student drawn figure. You need to have this updated before this weeks lab when I will be reviewing all projects.


--z3254753 00:51, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

so this is how I've divided up my sections further

risks: for each risk;

what is it? Why is this a risk (eg infection, hitting the fetus)

how is this risk reduced?

At which stage is performing amniocentesis most risky.

Stats of how often problems have arise in pregnancy connected to amniocentesis

Disorders: I can't just write a whole thing on each, as much as I'd like to, it'll b like having a whole section on disorders, not amniocentesis. So For each of the main disorders:

intro-discription, rates in birth

what stage of pregnancy can this be detected?

how it is tested for / detected

what do they look for? Eg variation chromosomes

why do they look for this? This mite belong in ethics but by this title I mean why do they test for this genetic disorder.. Is there some level of seriousness in a family history that warrants this test.. They test for each thing individually once they hav the amniotic fluid sample.

Suggestions?


--z3292208 05:59, 29 August 2010 (UTC) Hey guys just wanted to remind you this is due 2 weeks tomorrow ok!

--z3292208 03:57, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Hey Mark I put on the page a picture of trisomy 21, Down sydrome, to slot in the disorders section.


--z3292208 11:10, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Picture of the procedure:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=mga&part=A1760&rendertype=figure&id=A1761

http://adam.about.com/encyclopedia/Amniocentesis_1.htm

Picture to put in from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2532964/


--User:Z3129413 08:15, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks 325.


--z3254753 07:45, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

yea bro, il bring my camera tomo.


--Z3129413 06:06, 25 August 2010 (UTC)z3129413 The page layout is awesome... Anyone have a digi camera at the moment can you bring it thurs/fri.. can get some snapshots for the page... return camera next lab if feasible...

--Mark Hill 04:39, 23 August 2010 (UTC) Ok you guys have been doing some talk here. Now is the time to start thinking how to populate your project page subheadings. Remember that anything you do can always be undone or altered at a later date. I also see an absence here of good visual material for your project.


--z3292208 02:01, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

History

Key scientists:

  • Douglas Bevis
  • Murray Barr and Ewart Bartram
    • In the 50's the use of amniocentesis was used to find out the sex of the baby, not originally to diagnose chromosomal or neural tube defects.
    • 1949 were the first to study if the sex of a fetus can be found using amniocentesis anaylsis, and with that the possibility of sex linked diseases like hemophilia (a disorder of blood clotting).
    • The way the sex could be found = female cells have a cellular body attached, called the Barr body or sex chromatin, and male cells don't. This extra body, the sex chromatin, can be seen under the microscope.
    • Until amniocentesis in the 1950's, the only diagnostic technique used to warn women of having a child with a sex linked disease would be statistics based on family history, which was nothing more than loose probability.
    • Therefore is the sex of the baby could be found out pre-birth (along with the genomes of the mother and father of certain disorders), more reliable statistics could be calculated as to whether their baby might have a sex linked disorder.
    • http://www.ohiostatepress.org/books/Complete%20PDFs/Rothenberg%20Women/05.pdf
  • Fuchs and Riis
    • 1956 they were the first to successfully determine the sex of a baby using amniocentesis by the presence of a Barr body.
  • Steel and Breg
    • 1966 noted that amniotic fluid cells were able to be karyotyped, chromosomes can be analysed.
  • Dr. Carlo Valenti = 1968 first to use amniocentesis to diagnose a chromosomal/inherited disorder.
  • 1980's ultrasound techniques took out the guess work to guiding the needle during the procedure.


Procedure

Who is eligible for the test?

  • Since the procedure is invasive and therefore not without a number of risks, numerous tests are taken before to decide whether the mother is in the top category of women with a high chance of having a child with chromosomal or neural tube defect disorders.
  • These pre tests include:
    • Checking for abnormal ultrasound features
    • Maternal age is considered (>35 high risk of chromosomal disorders)
    • History of chromosomal disorders in the family, Rh +ve/-ve of the parents.
    • History of previous children born with a genetic defect.

When can the test be taken?

  • Most commonly during 15-16 weeks of gestation (during the second trimester), but can be done between weeks 14-20.
  • Second trimester amniocentesis is between weeks 15-18 (commonly wk 15-16).
  • Early amniocentesis is in the first trimester between weeks 11-14.
    • Has shown to have a rate of 3 times the rate of miscarriage.
    • Early amniocentesis has been conducted since the delay in the tissue analysis of an average of 2 weeks means if abortion is the option taken it is physically harder for the mother at a later stage of pregnancy, and emotionally as well.
    • The more common time is during second trimester since there is less risk of miscarriage and complications, and if an early diagnostic test is requested, CVS is a more recommended option.
  • Tissue culture takes a further 2-3 weeks before a result can be found.

Steps of the procedure

  • Counseling for the mother = review of genetic family history and history of any birth defects in previous children of the mother. Mother is also informed of the risks associated with the procedure, and is able to make a decision to continue based on weighing up the risks with her personal calculated chance of having a fetal abnormality.
  • Area is cleaned before needle insertion with an iodine solution.
  • Local anesthetic may be used but since there is little pain it usually isn't used to avoid having a second needle insertion.
  • Needle inserted and 15ml fluid taken, takes approx 30 seconds to withdraw the fluid.
  • Before the needle is inserted and whilst the needle is inside the uterus ultrasound is used to avoid harm to the baby and placenta.
  • After fluid is taken the baby's heart beat is checked to ensure there was no harm.
  • Fluid is cultured, the chromosomes are mapped = called karyotyping.
  • http://www.nevdgp.org.au/info/melb_us/Amniocentesis_melb.htm
  • http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/Prenatal%20Testing/prenataltest-amnios.htm
  • Amniotc fluid taken out is centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 15 minutes and then filtered. The filtrates are then scanned in a recording spectrophotometer.


Note:

  • For diagnostic accuracy, comparing this technique to other techniques, I read that Chorionic Villi Sampling (CVS) can be used earlier on in the pregnancy, but the disadvantage of that is there is a greater risk of miscarriage. So there is a pro and con for amniocentesis against CVS.
    • Also i just thought to include in diagnostic accuracy, what about the occurrence of false positive results?? Are there any statistics relating to false positive cases, if there have been cases what were the outcomes, has there been any incidence of abortion as a result of a false positive for a disorder? (That could be an ethical issue too, are women more wary of the procedure in case it isnt 100% reliable and there is a chance of false positives?).
    • Have a look at this site too for diagnostic accuracy, there's a whole section which looks really useful, it says that even if the results of the test are 'normal' doesn't guarantee a normal baby, it also explains how some chromosomal tests can be ambiguous and an unsure diagnosis can result leaving mothers with uncertainty. http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/Prenatal%20Testing/prenataltest-amnios.htm
  • For risks, Evidence supporting the 1% risk of miscarriage statistic in the article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18923654



--z3254753 23:17, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Another point on ethical issues is the ethical decisions to be made if a problem is found. Is it ethical to terminate a pregnancy if it is found the child will have mental retardation? What factors are involved when making these choices? I don't think there is a right answer for everybody, so maybe its important in this section to present ethical arguements for all sides.

So yea, I think you've covered all the ethical issues, nice work!

Mark

--z3292208 23:06, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

For ethical issues i was thinking more along the lines of is the test too invasive for the mother? Not necessarily the risks (thats being covered separately) but would many women be unsure about the procedure because it is invasive and possibly painful, do people believe there are other techniques that could be as effective and more attractive to women. In this we could also do a brief comparison between amniocentesis and other diagnostic techniques, the positives and negatives of the procedure against others.

Also another ethical issue would be the choices the mother would make if a positive test of a disorder was found.

Tegan.


22:54 August 18 Z3129413: Yes tasks outlines are good. Diagnostic accuracy according to NATA guidelines can be accessed quite easily. NATA is the testing accrediting agency in Australia, which monitors pathology labortory testing accuracy in accordance to intesively reviewed set guidlines. Any lab operating wants to have NATA accreditation in order to display the logo on request forms etc. I think that all hospitals outsource genetic and pathology testing to semi or fully private companies which can also be part of the government health service. Those labs that are aligned with hospitals, usualy those located on the hospital campus itself, are all absolutely operating in accordance with NATA guidlines. The further question here is what are the inherant diagnostic inaccuracies associated with amniocentesis itself, if any? I dont know at this stage. Another question is , can amniocentesis be conducted in private rooms by a clinic, GP or other? Therefore are patients attending here protected by some sort of accreditation monitoring agency? I think leaving the diagnostic accuracy to involve only Australia is relavant, as it can be safe to assume that in places where medical proceedures are commonly understood to not generally fall below a certain standard, what happens in Australia applies to them also as the medical information and research is shared between these locations via published research studies from various universities etc. and are used by the various national accrediting agencies as reference material in formatting the guidlines. I will look into accessing the current plus or minus degrees of error and reference ranges used to diagnose the top most test requested for.

In tackling the last two topics,

A). Ethical issues and current research perhaps can tie in together (an option) - as at a glance I do not think there is much controversy surrounding the test per se, other than in terms of potential physical trauma to mother or infant due to accident at time of proceedure or malpractice, possibly instrument sterility issues re bacteria introduced into womb or abdominal wall. In light of the risks associated ( therefore proceedural ethics) in this regards,I will have to weigh it up with investigating if there are simple blood tests that can accurately diagnose the same tests requested from an amniocentesis. But this will be covered by 3. RISKS.

Alternate proceedures for the tests could be covered by 'Diagnostic accuracy' I will have to look into this. Maybe other proceedures (blood tests) are more accurate for some tests. so lets call that safety/ accuracy concerns. Maybe not to bring ethics into this at this point.

Propose '5.Diagnostic accuracy and efficiency'.

Propose '6.Outcomes from results' Of course there is the issue of receiving a positive test result. I can cover this as the 'medical outcomes' of the tests (what it allows the parents to do in light of the knowledge). Here is a major source of ethical debate.

Propose '7.Current research trends and ethical debates' State main streams of current research and the place they are being conducted, in order to highlight the fact that there may be differing laws govering research restrictions. give a brief outline of current laws (probably sourced from UN. I will aim to give specific examples of where public oppinion has opposed proposed research ideas. If it appears that personal related morality versus 'yes it is proceedurally ethical(safe to mother etc)' I will state that opinions differ in this regard. I will outline the purposes of the research and by then aiming to show any alternate methods of approaching the same research, if any, the ethical debate can then be structured in this way. For now I think this is the best way to approach this.

ie, research says yes switch to uranium to alleviate the use of coal,

- immediately build heaps of controversial (public oppinion- wasteful)reactors

- or wait until all alternatives (public oppinion non controversial-cleaner) alternate methods have been investigated fully.

In this way, I wish to show that (eg 'public opinion') has a reasonable (scientific) leg to stand on upto this point, and then if it is shown that there is no other viable option to obtain the required results from investigations, then it is purely a matter of ethics as to proceed or not or benefit from the knowledge gained by those that do, and that this perhaps is the debate as it stands in essence, as medical knowledge once gained by any means is definately going to be used by all in the long run. Thinking about this I might just paint the spectrum of oppinions and how they each believe they are doing the right thing in regards to a particular research topic.

example. (rough draft) 'in contrast to the controversy involved with the use of embryonic stem cells, research (reference information gained from Scientific American.com) has been conducted into stem cells gained from amniocentesis. Political,public and scientific (give examples) oppinion has supported amniotic fluid stemcells (AFS) because no embryo is used in obtaining these pluripotent cells (reference ScietificAmerican.com). The debate continues because researchers believe that AFS can be just as effective (will outline reasons) for research as those obtained from Embryos(ref, ScientificAmerican.com). Dr.(refs) sees this as a positive however Dr.(refs) states that there is no doing without embryonic stemcells because, but it can be seen that AFS research has much to offer according to institute ... (refs)"AFS can provide all etc etc. without the need to clone embryos(refs)". Religious and philosophical groups such as. support AFS for this reason.(refs)

this is an example of how I would structure the arguement..

hope this is all on track. see you in the lab

will post links shortly.


--z3292208 23:45, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

okay so I'll do 1 & 2, mark 3&4, 5,6,? if you think it's too much I don't mind picking up 5, let me know.

Tegan.


--Mark Woods 22:21, 15 August 2010 (UTC) yea, i can do 3 and 4 thats a good split :)

Mark

--z3292208 22:11, 15 August 2010 (UTC)


Im happy to do the first 2? 5 and 6 arent too big so maybe someone can do the last 3? and then someone do 3 and 4 (Mark if you wanted to do that?). Do you think thats a fair split?

Tegan.


--z3254753 13:08, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

hey guys, nice work with the refernces, I think those sub catagories work well. I've been looking for references, Im not sure how to link it but I was on pubmed n found something that could work for current research, its actually an alternative to amniocentesis. I figured we could use it to compare the two, and discuss why they're looking into an alternative.

[and emerging techniques of fetal cell separation from maternal blood]

As for dividing up tasks, we should do that asap. I wouldn't mind getting to sink my teeth into what genetic orders can be detected, and I'm up for any other.

statistics-

[on population-based prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down's syndrome]

[between serum biochemical markers and early amniocentesis in diagnosis of congenital fetal anomalies.]

accuracy - [| Accuracy of real-time polymerase chain reaction for Toxoplasma gondii in amniotic fluid. ].

ethics -

[considerations].


Mark

--z3292208 06:27, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Here are some links to start off:

Historic background: http://www.ob-ultrasound.net/amniocentesis.html

Procedure: http://www.mjbovo.com/Pregnancy/PregAmnio.htm

Risks: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-risks-of-amniocentesis.htm

Main risks include 1) Miscarriage or pre-term labor, statistics have reduced in recent years. 2) Infection through the needle to the mother. 3) If the placenta is accidentally pricked mixing of neonatal blood and mothers blood may occur causing a condition where the mothers immune system attacks the fetus as a foreign body. This occurs due to a difference in blood type, one being Rh-positive, one being Rh-negative, although this can be tested before the procedure (checking the parents genotype) and extra care can be taken. 4) Harm to the baby from the needle, but ultrasound reduces this significantly.

Risk of miscarriage is less than 1% according to http://www.genetics.com.au/pdf/factsheets/fs17c.pdf.

Disorders detected: Amniocentesis takes a sample of the amniotic fluid containing fetal skin cells, from these they can look at the baby's chromosomes and detect any chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, trisomy 13 and trisomy 18. The sample taken can be tested for neural tube defects by looking at the amount of the protein alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), e.g. spina bifida and anencephaly (disorder where the top end of the neural tube fails to close during week 3-4 of development leading to portions of the brain and skull not being formed, usually leading to death before birth or very soon after). http://downsyndrome.about.com/od/diagnosingdownsyndrome/a/Amnio_ro.htm http://www.anencephaly.net/anencephaly.html


--z3292208 08:46, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Hey guys so I've rethought the structure a bit and added some detail that we should look into:


1. Historic background:

- When was it first used?

- How was the technique developed?

- The key scientists involved.

- Trends in its use.


2. Procedure

- Who is eligible for the procedure?

- Are there women/couples more suited to the test? (e.g family history in genetic disorders or previous birth with a genetic defect)

- When is the test taken during pregnancy?

- How is the procedure performed? Method, steps involved.


3. Risks

- Side effects, complications, short and long term (short term like infections, long term possible effects to the baby, abortion or induced early birth?)

- Could do an advantages/disadvantages table maybe?

4. Disorders detected

- What components of the amniotic fluid do they isolate and analyse, and what do they test for? (I read that there are a few hundred disorders that they can test for but the parents and doctor only choose certain ones for them to test, and also there are some main ones so maybe we'll just pick the most common ones and do those, e.g. chromosomal disorders like Down syndrome and neural tube defects like spina bifida).

5. Diagnostic accuracy

- How accurate is the testing, statistics.

6. Ethical issues

- Professional and public opinions about the test, is it a more common diagnostic technique?

7. Current research

- Is there any current research being done to improve the procedure? There may not be...


What do you guys think? If there's anything you think we should add post it up top (apparently we're supposed to post new things at the top of the page) if not then we should think how to split up the workload so we can start getting into it.

Tegan.


--z3292208 00:14, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Areas to look into:

1. Historic Background

2. Procedure, method.

3. Complications

4. Benefits, what disorders can be detected and prevented, option of abortion.

5. Current research on the procedure

Anything else you guys can think of to include?

--z3254753 00:33, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

nice work! i think '4.Benefits, what disorders can be detected and prevented, option of abortion' would be a big one, maybe whoever takes that one just has that point, and the other two ppl take two points each? what do you guys think?

hi everybody!


--Mark Hill 22:56, 11 August 2010 (UTC) Well group 3 where is your work that should have been done before this week's Lab?

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