Biomedical Laboratory Science

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Saturday, July 2, 2016

MCQ 5. Iron Deficiency Anaemia in Pregnancy


MCQ 5. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anaemia in pregnancy worldwide and severe anaemia can have very serious consequences for mothers and babies. A striking increase in one of these proteins in severe iron deficiency may be mistaken for a monoclonal protein.

What is this protein?
a. albumin
b. transferrin
c. haptoglobin
d. α1-antitrypsin
e. prealbumin

Inherited Cholesterol Disorder Significantly Boosts Heart Risks

People who inherit a genetic disorder that causes high levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol have an increased risk for heart disease and hardened arteries, a new study finds.

The condition is called heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. It's believed to affect about 1.5 million people in the United States, the researchers said.

The genes linked to this condition prevent the liver from removing LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol from the blood. This allows the bad cholesterol to build up. Doctors suspect this familial condition when LDL levels are above 190 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), the study authors explained.



MCQ 6. A Male Patients with Proven Coronary Disease


MCQ 6. A very high percentage of male patients with proven coronary disease and/or raised lipid levels had an increased level of "pre-beta" lipoproteins in their blood.

What is also referred to as these lipoproteins?
a. HDL
b. VLDL
c. LDL
d. Lipo B

Gallbladder Problems: Signs, Symptoms, Treatments and Outlooks

Most people don't pay much attention to their gallbladder until it starts causing trouble. However, when the gallbladder starts acting up, it can be quite painful and require immediate action.

This article will look at what the gallbladder does, the symptoms of a problem with the gallbladder, treatment options, and long-term outlook.

What is the gallbladder?
The gallbladder is a 4-inch-long pear-shaped organ found under the liver in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen. It stores the bile the liver makes to digest fat.

The gallbladder is found just below the liver. Its job is to store bile used to digest fat.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Gene Mutation 'Hotspots' Linked to Better Cancer Outcomes

Patients with the mutations tended to survive longer and had tumors more susceptible to aggressive treatment.

Breast cancer patients with groups of mutations clustered in their genome have better outcomes than patients without them, researchers found in a recent study.

More than half of breast cancer patients have clusters of genetic mutations called kataegis, and their cancer tends to be less invasive, offering better opportunities for effective treatment, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego.


Although researchers are unsure of how the clusters of genetic mutations called kataegis occur,
but cancer patients who have them in tumors tend to respond better to treatment and have better
outcomes, according to a recent study.

MCQ 7. A Blood Sample is Left on a Phlebotomy Tray for Four Hours


MCQ 7. A blood sample is left on a phlebotomy tray for four hours before it is delivered to the laboratory.

Which group of tests could be performed with the least effect on the results?
a. Glucose, Na, K, CO2 content
b. Uric Acid, BUN, creatinine
c. Total and direct bilirubin
d. CK, ALT, ALP, ACP
e. Lactate and ammonia

MCQ 8. A Pregnant Woman with a Lactase Deficiency


MCQ 8. A pregnant woman who has a lactase deficiency and cannot tolerate milk in her diet is concerned that she will not be able to produce milk of sufficient caloric value to nourish her baby. 

What should she be advised?
a. She must eat pure galactose in order to produce the galactose moiety of lactose.
b. She will not be able to breast feed her baby because she cannot produce lactose.
c. Production of lactose by mammary glands do not require ingestion of milk or milk products.
d. She can produce lactose by degrading alpha-lactalbumin.
e. She must eat pure fructose which will be converted to galactose moiety of lactose.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Scientists Identify Trigger and Treatment

Apart from lifestyle changes and weight loss, there are currently no effective or safe treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Now, for the first time, researchers find that a protein called cdk4 occurs at higher levels in mouse models and human patients with the disease. Also, when they blocked the protein in mice, using drugs, it significantly reduced development of hepatic steatosis - the first stage of the disease.

The study, by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, is published in the journal Cell Reports.

Senior author Nikolai Timchenko, a professor in the department of surgery at the University of Cincinnati and head of the Liver Tumor Biology Program at Cincinnati Children's, says:

"This is the first study to show that cdk4 triggers development of NAFLD [non-alcoholic fatty liver disease] and that inhibiting this enzyme can both prevent and reverse the first step of the disease."


The researchers found high levels of a protein called cdk4 in people with fatty livers.

'Breast Cancer Gene' BRCA1 Linked to Aggressive Uterine Cancer

Mutations in women's BRCA genes, which are linked to both breast cancer and ovarian cancer, may also increase their risk of developing a particularly deadly form of uterine cancer, a new study finds.

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are sometimes referred to as the "breast cancer genes" because women who have a mutation in one or both of these genes face a much greater risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer than women without mutations in these genes.

But previous studies have also suggested that women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation may also be more likely to develop a type of uterine cancer called uterine serous carcinoma, said Dr. Noah Kauff, director of clinical cancer genetics at the Duke Cancer Institute in North Carolina and the senior author of the new study.


SebastianKaulitzki | Shutterstock
Source: livescience

BRCA1 Gene Mutation May Raise Risk of Aggressive Endometrial Cancer

The risk of aggressive serous or serous-like endometrial cancer may be higher for women with a BRCA1 gene mutation, even after undergoing risk-reducing surgery involving the removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries. This is the finding of a new study published in JAMA Oncology.

However, the study found that a mutated BRCA1 gene did not increase women's overall risk of uterine cancer if they had undergone the risk-reducing procedure, called risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO).

RRSO is the surgical removal of the fallopian tube and ovaries, and it is sometimes recommended for women who are at high risk of breast or ovarian cancers as a result of BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations.


Researchers say women with a BRCA1 mutation are at higher risk for aggressive endometrial cancer,
even after undergoing risk-reducing surgery.
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