In our study, the ARSA in combination with other ultrasound signs increased the risk for trisomy 21 by factor of 45, but the independent ability of ARSA as an isolated marker to predict fetal Trisomy 21 is unclear.

In our study, abnormal MSS (and among these, abnormal triple test result) was the most frequent indication for amniocentesis. Our overall culture success rate was 98.8%. Frequency of major chromosomal abnormality was 3.2% and trisomy 21 was the most frequent abnormality.

Results:Of the 76 cases with m-VSD, 1 fetus died after birth and 31 cases were lost to follow-up after birth. Thus, a total of 44 fetuses reached their first year of postnatal life, and these cases were available for analysis. Three (6.8%) of 44 defects closed spontaneously in utero, 33 (75%) closed within 1 year, and 8 (18.2%) remained patent. Overall, spontaneous closure occurred more frequently in the apical defects, but no significant difference was found for spontaneous closure between the mid-muscular and apical defects (p>0.05). Also, 83.8% (36 of 44) of defects ≤3 mm closed during gestation or the first year of life. Key words: Isolated, muscular ventricular septal defect, spontaneous closure Received: 15 January, 2014 Accepted: 11 March, 2014 Natural history of prenatal isolated muscular ventricular septal defects Conclusion:

No abstract

The aim of this study was to present our preliminary data about nasal bone measurements at 11–14 weeks of pregnancy. This study was conducted in our prenatal unit between 2000 and 2003. A total of 642 pregnant women (single pregnancies) were enrolled into the study. During the first trimester of pregnancy, crown-rump length, nuchal translucency thickness, and fetal nasal bone length measurements and ductus venosus Doppler images were evaluated. The distribution of absent or small nasal bones in both normal fetuses and in those having some pathological conditions was compared by statistical analysis. p < 0.05 was considered significant. Nasal bone evaluation was successful in 600 of 642 (93.4%) ultrasound examinations. The linear regression line showed a significant positive slope with increasing crown-rump length (r = 0.54, p < 0.001). Absent or small nasal bones were more common in abnormal than in normal fetuses (p = 0.007). It is clear that the fetal nasal bone is becoming a powerful tool in prenatal screening for aneuploidy. Larger studies to be performed in a low-risk population are needed to assess whether the measurement of the nasal bone length provides additional benefits beyond the assessment of the presence or absence of the nasal bone.