The Growing Impact of Cardiac Biomarkers in Clinical Chemistry.

Clinical chemistry measurements and calculations take into account an expansive set of analytes that reflect cardiac, liver, kidney, and other biological functions. Several of these discrete analytes are considered biomarkers, defined by Strimbu and Tavel as “a broad subcategory of medical signs [that are] objective indications of medical state observed from outside the patient which can be measured accurately and reproducibly.” In the case of cardiac biomarkers, the most common analytes are creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and troponin (TNI). There are pros and cons to using these common chemistry tests as definitive cardiac biomarkers. However, other chemistry analytes and even some non-laboratory tests have been identified as potential cardiac biomarkers. Providing clinicians with accurate and thorough testing is important in contributing to diagnosis and ultimately to positive patient outcomes.

Read more: The Growing Impact of Cardiac Biomarkers in Clinical Chemistry.

Source: MedicalLaboratoryObserver

All You Need to Know About the Glucose Tolerance Test

Most of the food people eat is turned directly into glucose when digested, and the body uses it as energy. The pancreas is responsible for making the hormone insulin which helps to get glucose into the cells of the body.

Diabetes is a long-term disease that occurs due to the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the body being unable to use the insulin it produces effectively.

The body is unable to process food properly to use for energy. Glucose builds up in the blood, which can lead to severe health problems.

There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults and is also known as juvenile diabetes. With type 1 diabetes the body does not produce insulin. 

Read more: All You Need to Know About the Glucose Tolerance Test

A glucose tolerance test can be used to screen for type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes can occur in
pregnant woman who have never had diabetes but have high blood glucose levels. During the
glucose test, some people may experience nausea, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and sweating.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Stroke Could be Better Predicted with Biomarker Discovery

Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death in the United States, affecting more than 795,000 Americans every year. But what if doctors were better able to predict who is likely to have a stroke, providing greater opportunity for prevention? Researchers have uncovered four biomarkers that could help do just that.

In a study published in the journal Neurology, researchers found that individuals who had higher levels of four inflammatory biomarkers in their blood were at greater risk for stroke than those with lower levels.

Study co-author Dr. Ashkan Shoamanesh, of McMaster University in Canada, and colleagues say that - while further research is needed to determine whether these biomarkers could be used in clinical practice - their findings could pave the way for better prevention and treatment of stroke.

Stroke occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain is reduced, causing brain cell death.

Read more: Stroke Could be Better Predicted with Biomarker Discovery

Researchers have pinpointed four biomarkers that they say could help predict stroke risk.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Blood test for Tuberculosis

Together with AIDS, tuberculosis ranks among those infectious diseases with the highest global mortality rate, claiming the lives of between 1.5 and two million people every year. However, not everyone infected with the bacterium develops tuberculosis. In fact, fewer than ten percent of those infected go on to manifest the disease. An international team of scientists, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, have now developed a tuberculosis test that can reliably predict whether an individual will develop active tuberculosis. Doctors may be able to use this test in future to predict the progression of the disease and initiate medical care early.

In future, molecules from blood samples can tell physicians if somebody will develop tuberculosis.

Read more: Blood test for Tuberculosis

Source: cli-online

Colorecal Cancer: Minimally Invasive, Triple-Therapy Patch Destroys Tumors

Research released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describes an adhesive patch that can deliver a triple-combination of drug, gene, and light-based therapy to colorectal tumors.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 1 in 21 for men and 1 in 23 for women.

Most colorectal cancers begin as a growth, or tumor, on the inner lining of the colon or rectum called a polyp, and they can change to cancer over many years. Not all polyps become cancer.

It usually takes around 10-15 years for abnormal cells to grow into colorectal tumors. With regular screening, polyps can be removed before they develop into cancer.

Although the type of treatment for colorectal cancer largely depends on the stage of cancer, treatment options are often surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Read more: Colorecal Cancer: Minimally Invasive, Triple-Therapy Patch Destroys Tumors

The triple-therapy patch could be used to treat any remaining cancer cells at the tumor site after surgery.

Source: medicalnewstoday

'Smart Thread' Enables 3-D Tissue Embedding for Medical Diagnostics

By integrating microfluidic networks, nano-scale sensors, and electronics, researchers have created implantable, thread-like devices that can be sutured through several layers of tissue in 3-D to gather and send diagnostic data wirelessly as it happens.

Writing the journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering, the team - led by engineers from Tufts University in Medford, MA - says the new "smart thread" diagnostic platform could form the basis of a new generation of implantable medical diagnostics and smart wearable devices.

The paper describes the creation of microfluidic threads that can be sutured through several layers of tissue to sample fluid. The network of microfluidic circuits "interface intimately with biological tissues in three dimensions," note the authors.

Read more: 'Smart Thread' Enables 3-D Tissue Embedding for Medical Diagnostics

The microfluidic threads penetrate several layers to sample tissue fluid and channel it to sensing

threads that collect data, such as pH and glucose levels. Electrically conductive threads then

deliver the data to a flexible wireless transmitter that can be sited on top of the skin.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Simple List of Seven Predictors Helps screen Patients at Risk of COPD

A clinical trial that tested a simple seven-item list of predictive factors finds it is an effective screening tool for helping doctors identify patients at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a progressive lung disease where it becomes hard to breathe. The screening tool works even when patients are not experiencing symptoms.

The trial, which took place in primary care settings in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Uruguay, is part of the Prevalence Study and Regular Practice, Diagnosis and Treatment (PUMA) study and is reported in the journal Respirology.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. As symptoms progress, patients experience wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and they cough up large amounts of mucus.

The leading cause of COPD is smoking - most people with COPD are smokers or ex-smokers. However, long-term exposure to other lung irritants - such as chemical fumes, air pollution, dust, and smoke from woodstoves or cookstoves (biomass smoke) - also raise the risk of COPD.

Read more: Simple List of Seven Predictors Helps screen Patients at Risk of COPD

Source: medicalnewstoday

Borderline Diabetes: What You Need to Know

The term borderline diabetes refers to a condition called prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classed as type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetes is to be considered a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that 10 to 23 percent of people with prediabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.

Prediabetes can be accompanied by other risk factors. It is associated with conditions such as obesity, especially abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood fat levels and low levels of "good" cholesterol.

When these risk factors "cluster" together in a person, there is a higher risk of not just type 2 diabetes but heart disease and stroke as well.

Read more: Borderline Diabetes: What You Need to Know

Source: medicalnewstoday

Food Pathogen Detection via Handheld 'Nanoflower' Biosensor

At present, harmful pathogens in food are mostly only discovered when people get sick. Earlier detection - preferably before food reaches consumers - could prevent many cases of foodborne illness and save the cost and effort involved in food recalls. Now, a team working toward solving this problem has developed a portable biosensor based on "nanoflowers" that detects harmful bacteria.

The new technology is the work of researchers at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, who describe how they developed and tested it in a paper published in the journal Small.

Even tiny amounts of harmful bacteria and other microbes can give rise to serious health risks, but the available sensor technology is unable to detect them easily and quickly in small quantities.

The key challenge in solving this problem is finding a way to detect the faint chemical signals that the harmful microbes emit at the molecular level.

Read more:  Food Pathogen Detection via Handheld 'Nanoflower' Biosensor

The nanoflower biosensor detects tiny chemical signals emitted by bacteria and amplifies them so they
can be picked up easily with a simple handheld pH meter.

Source: medicalnewstoday

All You Need to Know About Insulin Sensitivity Factor

Insulin is a hormone that plays and important role in the body's metabolism by controlling blood sugar levels and other processes.

It is produced by beta cells in the pancreas and released it into the bloodstream after we eat to enable some body cells, such as muscle, fat, and heart cells, to absorb the sugar from the food we eat.

Insulin also helps store glucose in the liver as glycogen when it is not needed, so it can be released it when blood sugar levels are low or when more energy is needed.

Read more: All You Need to Know About Insulin Sensitivity Factor

Insulin sensitivity factor reflects how blood sugar levels fall after taking 1 unit of insulin.

Source: medicalnewstoday

How a single blood test could identify your entire viral infection history

Researchers have created what they say is a "one-stop shop" for diagnosing infections - a test that can determine an individual's complete viral history just by scanning a single drop of blood.

The test, called VirScan, was created by Stephen Elledge and colleagues from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

"We've developed a screening methodology to basically look back in time in people's [blood] sera and see what viruses they have experienced," explains Elledge. "Instead of testing for one individual virus at a time, which is labor intensive, we can assay all of these at once. It's one-stop shopping."

Read more: How a single blood test could identify your entire viral infection history

VirScan can pinpoint past and present viruses in a person's blood by identifying the peptides antiviral
antibodies bind to.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Novel blood test could diagnose diseases with no known antigens

It may one day be possible to identify cancer, autoimmune diseases, and a wealth of other conditions from a single drop of blood, after a team from the University of Pittsburgh reveals the creation of a test that holds promise for such a feat.

In the Journal of Immunological Methods, the researchers explain how they developed a test that may be able to identify diseases for which there are no known microbial causes.

Antigens are substances - such as bacteria, viruses, or chemicals - that induce an immune response in the body, causing the immune system to produce antibodies that target and destroy these foreign invaders.

Read more: Novel blood test could diagnose diseases with no known antigens

Researchers have created a blood test that they say could diagnose a number of diseases with no
known microbial causes.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Tools for Lung Cancer Research

Recent advances in lung cancer research suggest a personalized approach to diagnostics and therapeutics to reduce mortality

Due to its high rate of mortality, lung cancer is a prominent area of research for scientists. Lung cancer is a complex disease with many subtypes resulting from factors such as family history, lifestyle and occupation-with each subtype requiring different treatment regimens. Thus, developing therapeutics for this disease requires vast research efforts.

The specific subtypes of the cancer must be paired to successful treatments, which can then be matched to individual patients. The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) has responded to this initiative for personalized medicine by creating new drug screening and diagnostic test development tools, such as tumor cell panels based on genetic alteration, primary cells, gene-edited isogenic cell lines and cell line derivatives.

"Over the years, we have expanded our portfolio into the most diverse and unique collection of cancer cells to include thousands of human and animal cancer cell lines representing the diversity of the disease," said Fang Tian, PhD, lead scientist at ATCC. "Our growing collection of lung cancer cell lines is now just shy of 100 lines.

Read more: Tools for Lung Cancer Research

Source: laboratory-manager.advanceweb

A clinical look at the future of pathology

Rapid change has become a defining feature of pathology – but can this change power a new generation of laboratory software to shape the role of the clinical laboratory of the future?

It will come as no surprise to those in the clinical laboratory and pathology field that the market is undergoing rapid change. In recent decades health expectations have risen globally, with all member states of the World Health Organisation committed to working towards universal health coverage worldwide.

The proper scaling of pathology services is key to this growth, as pathology is involved in 70% of all healthcare diagnoses. If the pathology market follows the compound annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2014 to 2020 as predicted in a new study by market analysts Grand View Research1, then the global market for clinical laboratories is expected to reach US$149 billion by 2020.

Along with the rise of universal healthcare, other factors are driving change in the pathology market. These include an aging population and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes. We are also seeing an upsurge of new testing methods to support initiatives such as personalized medicine, also known as genomic medicine, and point-of-care testing.

Read more: A clinical look at the future of pathology

Source: shutterstock

Scientists develop supersensitive biosensor for cancer

A team of physicists and engineers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, has created an optical biosensor for cancer detection using nanostructured metamaterials that are 1 million times more sensitive than previous versions, pointing the way toward an effective early detection system for cancer and other illnesses.

The device, which is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, has been developed to provide oncologists with a way to detect a single molecule of an enzyme produced by circulatingcancer cells.

Such detection could allow doctors to diagnose patients with certain cancers far earlier than possible today, monitor treatment and resistance, and more.

The research, published online in the journalNature Materials, describes how the nanosensor acts like a biological sieve, isolating a small protein molecule weighing less than 800 quadrillionths of a nanogram from an extremely dilute solution.

The researchers believe the sensing technology will also be useful in diagnosing and monitoring other diseases.

"The prognosis of many cancers depends on the stage of the cancer at diagnosis," says Giuseppe "Pino" Strangi, professor of physics at Case Western Reserve and leader of the research.

Read more: Scientists develop supersensitive biosensor for cancer

The researchers used nanostructured metamaterials 1 million times more sensitive
than previous versions, enabling an early detection system for cancer.

Source: medicalnewstoday