Alpha-fetoprotein in obstetrics. Experience of a prenatal diagnosis center.

For several years the determination of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) levels has been utilized to screen the patients at increased risk for foetal neural tube defects. In this way, various problems have been more and more dealed, from the definition of "cut-off" levels which could be guarantee an acceptable rate of diagnoses, limiting however the number of normal pregnancies which undergo further ascertainments, to the search of indoneous protocols of diagnostic approach in cases of high MSAFP levels. The wide clinical use of MSAFP determination has lead to the availability of a large number of data in various classes of obstetrics population, and to search for new diagnostic chances offered by this metodology. Among these, a great interest has been pointed out to the use of MSAFP determination to screen for Down's syndrome foetuses and to utilize MSAFP as a predictive index of perinatal pathology. The Authors describe their own experience in these diagnostic fields.