Electrical Immunosensor Detects Acute Myocardial Infarction

Heart disease and especially acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are the leading causes of death for both men and women and therefore, a fast and reliable diagnosis of heart attack or cardiac episode are urgently needed.

The most commonly used biomarkers are creatine kinase-MB, myoglobin, cardiac troponin T, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), which is a subunit of the troponin complex found in cardiac muscle and is a highly specific and sensitive biomarker for the clinical diagnosis of AMI.

Read more: Electrical Immunosensor Detects Acute Myocardial Infarction

The core material used for the new immunosensor that detects proteins in the blood stream following

a heart attack, providing results in just one minute (Photo courtesy of Ulsan National Institute of

Science and Technology).

Source: labmedica

Heart Transplantation Recipients Unaffected by Donor Troponin Levels

Many transplant centers routinely reject hearts if the donor’s blood test reveals elevated levels of troponin I, a protein found in heart muscle that enters the bloodstream when there is a heart attack or other heart muscle damage. Donors with previous heart disease are automatically excluded.

Heart transplantation is one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine and patients with advanced heart failure in whom survival is measured in weeks and months are offered the potential for survival of equal to or greater than 10 years with excellent quality of life.

Read more: Heart Transplantation Recipients Unaffected by Donor Troponin Levels

According to new research, a blood test that leads to donor hearts being rejected may not effectively
predict whether a heart transplant will succeed or fail (Photo courtesy of the AMA).

Source: labmedica

Cardiovascular Disease Diagnostics and Testing

Current and emerging cardiac markers signal improved testing for better patient outcomes

Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for nearly 800,000 deaths annually—or about one in every three deaths. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, claiming the lives of about 610,000 Americans each year.1Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing more than 370,000 people annually.

In addition, about 5.1 million people in the United States have heart failure.2About half of the people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. In 2009, one out of every nine deaths included heart failure as a contributing cause. Heart failure costs the nation an estimated $32 billion each year.

In light of such dire statistics, it’s no wonder that achieving speedy diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI)—heart attack—remains a significant concern in emergency departments throughout the nation. Early triage of patients to rule-in or rule-out AMI is challenging. For many years, testing for the presence of the regulatory proteins troponin I or troponin T—both released into the bloodstream when the heart muscle has been damaged—has been the gold standard for diagnosing AMI. But recent reports have indicated that the latest generation of high-sensitivity troponin tests can increase diagnostic efficiency and improve early diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

Read more: Cardiovascular Disease Diagnostics and Testing

Alere’s troponin I test is a cartridge-based high-sensitivity immunoassay.

Source: clpmag

Troponin I and Brain Natriuretic Peptide Antibodies as new Generation of Cardiac Markers.

HyTest specialists have been involved in cardiac troponin I (cTnI) studies for more than 15 years. Currently many well characterised antibodies directed to different regions of the cTnI molecule are available. Many of these antibodies are used in commercial assays. The company has determined antibody pairs and combinations useful for the development of high sensitivity cTnI assays, and also validated pairs suitable for lateral flow assays. A new generation of cTnI antibodies is currently under development.

Work with brain natriuretic peptides is ongoing, and BNP, proBNP and NT-proBNP antibodies and antigens are available. In addition a new type of BNP/proBNP immunoassay, the "single epitope" sandwich assay, has been developed, which differs from the conventional format of sandwich immunoassays. In the single epitope sandwich assay, the capture antibody recognises the antigen (BNP or proBNP), whereas the detection antibody is specific to the complex of capture antibody and antigen. The single epitope sandwich approach has great advantages compared with conventional assays, especially in the case of unstable antigen detection. HyTest holds the intellectual property rights for this invention.

Read more:
Troponin I and Brain Natriuretic Peptide Antibodies as new Generation of Cardiac Markers.

Source: cli-online, bpac, stmd