Estimation of the levels of amniotic fluid alpha fetoprotein (AFP) for the prenatal diagnosis of spina bifida and anencephaly.

In Britain alone about 2,400 infants (0.3 percent of total live births) are born with spina bifida each year. Nearly half of these die at or shortly after birth, but a great majority of the remainder who survive are seriously handicapped. Many attempts have been made in the past to diagnose such cases early enough in pregnancy so that timely termination of such a pregnancy can be offered to the mother. In the last decade amniotic fluid alpha fetoprotein has been used successfully at many centers in the United Kingdom as a marker for pre-natal diagnosis of neural tube defects such as open lesions of spina bifida and anencephaly. The results appear to be more promising than those of other markers and, as such, a general screening of "at risk mothers" now seems to be a useful and worthwhile procedure.