The frequency of chromosomal, abnormalities in patients with reproductive failure

Objective: To investigate the ratio of chromosomal abnormalities in recurrent fetal wastage. Study design: We conducted a study of the cytogenetic data of 645 couples (1290 patients) with recurrent fetal wastage examined at the Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Trabzon, Turkey. Couples who had first trimester miscarriages/abortion, preceded or followed by a second or third trimester fetal death/fetal abnormalities were recruited from Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics for cytogenetics analysis. Results: Chromosome abnormalities were found in 25 (3.86%) patients. The chromosomal abnormalities were structural (3.71%) and numerical (0.15%). Polymorphisms of heterochromatin blocks and inv(9) were shown in 115 (17.51%) patients. Conclusions: Chromosome analyses are an important and necessary part of the etiological research in couples with recurrent fetal wastage. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.