ArticlePrenatal diagnosis2017
Fetal therapy for Down syndrome: an ethical exploration.
Article in Prenatal diagnosis, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bridging disciplinary siloes: a scoping review on the inclusion and exclusion of pregnant and lactating populations in clinical research.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- A new ethical framework to determine acceptable risks in fetal therapy trials.Prenatal diagnosis · 2022Review
- A New Ethical Framework for Assessing the Unique Challenges of Fetal Therapy Trials.The American journal of bioethics : AJOB · 2022Article
- Ethical, Translational, and Legal Issues Surrounding the Novel Adoption of Ectogestative Technologies.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2022Review
- The Challenging Pathway of Treatment for Neurogenesis Impairment in Down Syndrome: Achievements and Perspectives.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Down syndrome is an oxidative phosphorylation disorder.Redox biology · 2021Article
- Neurogenesis, Myelination, and Circuitry: The Case for a Distributed Therapeutic Regimen in Down Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities · 2020Article
- Down syndrome.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2020Review
- Challenges and Opportunities for Translation of Therapies to Improve Cognition in Down Syndrome.Trends in molecular medicine · 2020Article
- OLIG2 Drives Abnormal Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in Human iPSC-Based Organoid and Chimeric Mouse Models of Down Syndrome.Cell stem cell · 2019Article
- Performance and Predictive Value of First Trimester Screening Markers for Down Syndrome in Iranian Pregnancies.Journal of family & reproductive health · 2018Article
- Lifespan analysis of brain development, gene expression and behavioral phenotypes in the Ts1Cje, Ts65Dn and Dp(16)1/Yey mouse models of Down syndrome.Disease models & mechanisms · 2018Article
- Recent developments in genetics and medically assisted reproduction: from research to clinical applications.European journal of human genetics : EJHG · 2018Review
- Recent developments in genetics and medically-assisted reproduction: from research to clinical applicationsHuman reproduction open · 2017Article
- "Down Syndrome is Not a Curse": parent Perspectives on the Medicalization of Down Syndrome.AJOB empirical bioethicsArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundParallel to recent advances in prenatal screening for Down syndrome (DS), therapies for different aspects of the condition have become available. As intellectual disability is a key aspect, this is an active area for research. Several groups have hypothesized that prenatal interventions will give better chances at improving cognitive functioning in persons with DS than postnatal treatment. Clinical trials are being developed.
methodWe first discuss the ethical pros and cons of trying to improve cognitive functioning in persons with DS to see if there are categorical objections to the general idea, and then move on to explore ethically relevant aspects of the prospect of developing fetal therapy for DS (FTDS).
resultsOnly on the basis of a one-dimensional emphasis on the social model of disability would (fetal) therapy aimed at cognitive improvement be inherently problematic.
conclusionsInviting pregnant women to participate in FTDS-research should be based on adequate pre-clinical trials, as well as information aimed at avoiding the so-called 'therapeutic misconception'. Should FTDS be proven to be effective and safe, women carrying a fetus with trisomy 21 who have decided to continue the pregnancy may have a moral obligation to make use of this option. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.