title: Prenatal biochemical screening for neural tube defects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neural tube defects (NTDs) can be considered as a folate deficiency disorder. The prevalence of NTDs ranges from about 0.5 to 6 in 1,000 births.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two steps can be distinguished in biochemical screening for NTDs: 1. Screening in the general population, which is based on two complementary methods, maternal serum AFP screening and ultrasound screening; 2. Screening in a high-risk group, which requires fetal scanning by an expert sonographer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Amniocentesis for acetylcholinesterase electrophoresis is indicated when sonographic scans are difficult to interpret.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biochimie, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, 9 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 92104 Boulogne Cedex, France. francoise.muller@apr.ap-hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muller
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D012306:Risk; D014463:Ultrasonography; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins