​MedLife complements the screening options available to pregnant women and presents a new test at the Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Biology in Bucharest: the non-invasive prenatal test RUNA. Patients requesting this test will receive their results in just 6 business days, which is the shortest turnaround time compared to other maternal-fetal blood tests on the market. Tests can be obtained from all MedLife clinics and collection points in the country, as well as from partner clinics.

• MedLife presents a new test at the Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Biology in Bucharest, the RUNA test, and thus complements the screening options available to pregnant women.
• RUNA is a NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Test) that offers high precision and accuracy to detect already during pregnancy if there is a risk that the fetus will suffer from Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome or other genetic abnormalities.
• MedLife provides results for these tests in as little as 6 business days, which is the fastest turnaround time compared to other maternal-fetal blood tests on the market.
• RUNA has a detection rate of over 99% and detects more abnormalities compared to conventional screening during pregnancy.

RUNA is a NIPT (non-invasive prenatal test) performed using the technology and accreditation of Illumina, the world leader in NGS (Next Generation Sequencing). It provides high accuracy and precision, being the fastest and most painless way to find out during pregnancy if there is a risk that the fetus will suffer from Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome or other genetic abnormalities.

“Thanks to the activities we carry out in the MedLife laboratories, with the help of the experience of Romanian doctors and specialists, together with the latest innovations and technologies, we aim to offer our patients highly effective solutions that help them lead a healthy lifestyle, discovering medical problems as early and as accurately as possible , which can affect them. In this regard, we expanded the possibilities of examination of pregnant women and made the RUNA test for them, which provides greater accuracy and precision of results for the detection of genetic abnormalities. Processing samples in our laboratory significantly reduces the time to receive results from 2-3 weeks to 6 business days, which is a great advantage for expectant parents,” said Doreen Preda, CEO of MedLife Group.

How the test is conducted and what are the main deviations detected

RUNA analyzes freely circulating DNA in the mother’s blood, detecting situations in which chromosomal abnormalities (fetal aneuploidy) can affect the health of the fetus. The DNA that circulates freely in the mother’s blood comes from both her own cells and placental cells, so the potential risk of fetal chromosomal abnormalities can be detected with this test, made from a few milliliters of the mother’s blood. The collection for the test is completely painless and harmless and can be carried out from 10 weeks of pregnancy, both in the case of a singleton pregnancy, and in the case of a twin pregnancy or an IVF pregnancy.

Compared to conventional prenatal screening, represented by a biochemical marker test such as the double or triple test, which detects at most 90% of Down syndrome pregnancies, RUNA has a much higher detection rate of over 99% for common trisomies. , and reveals more anomalies. These include chromosomal abnormalities affecting all chromosomes, including trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), chromosomal abnormalities affecting sex chromosomes* – Klinefelter syndrome, triple X syndrome , Jacob syndrome and Turner syndrome. , the sex of the child, deletions and duplications larger than 7 MB (which can cause various genetic syndromes) on all chromosomes except sex.

“Screening for chromosomal abnormalities other than 13, 18, and 21 is important because these abnormalities cause miscarriages, growth retardation, and birth defects. The frequency of these abnormalities is estimated at 0.44% of pregnancies, which is close to the combined frequency of trisomies 13, 18 and 21, which is 0.5%. In practice, the RUNA test allows us to identify chromosomal abnormalities that affect as many pregnancies as trisomies 13, 18 and 21, which are the most common chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus,” says Dumitru Zhardan, a biologist at MedLife Group’s research division, coordinator of the Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory MedLife, MD.

The non-invasive RUNA test is considered a screening test, not a diagnostic test, and requires confirmatory tests before a clinical decision can be made. Patients undergoing this screening must confirm the result with an invasive test such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. In case of positive results, verified chromosomal aberrations can be confirmed by amniocentesis at MedLife clinics.

NIPT is recommended by professional societies such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to screen for common aneuploidy in all pregnant women, regardless of age or risk.

You can find more information about the RUNA test here: www.medlife.ro/glosar-medical/analize-medicale/test-nipt.

*In a twin pregnancy, only the presence of a Y-chromosome is determined.

Article supported by MedLife