[Scientific and practical aspects of prenatal diagnosis]

Prenatal diagnostics (PD) is a relatively new branch of medical genetics enjoining presently a rapid practical and scientific progress. The key practical issues related with detecting the pregnant women at high risk of fetal congenital and inherited pathologies have already been solved, and a variety of fetal examinations by non-invasive (ultrasound) and invasive (cytogenetics, biochemistry and molecular tests) methods have been elaborated. Their practical application are totally dependant on the managerial and financial input in the discussed field of medicine. Further advancement in PD are tensely associated with early pregnancy stages (trimester 1), with the molecular diagnostic tools in the diagnosis of chromosomal diseases and with a comprehensive use of Pregnancy Genetic Form worked out and used already at our institute. DP opens up the promising opportunities for analyzing the human genome activity at the initial development stages, which comprises the revision of previously-obtained data on the cytogenetics of human embryo evolution, human chromosomes' functioning and of temporary embryonic organs as observed during the mentioned stages; it also comprises an analysis and application of umbilical and embryonic cells (embryonic cell therapy) and elaboration of scientific fundamentals for embryonic gene therapy. PD should not be referred to only as a set of diagnostic methods for it is also a good starting-ground for research of human embryo-genesis.