Biomedical Laboratory Science

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Serum Albumin Levels Associated with Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients

Serum albumin is commonly used as a proxy for nutritional status, as well as a marker of inflammation and a low serum albumin concentration is not only indicative of protein energy wasting in dialysis patients, but it is also a powerful predictor of the mortality risk in this population.

Several clinical conditions are associated with low serum albumin levels in dialysis patients, including infectious and inflammatory diseases, fluid overload, inadequate dialysis, severe co-morbidity, and taste change. Therefore, regular monitoring of serum albumin levels is useful for predicting outcomes in dialysis patients.

The Hitachi 7600–210 modular clinical biochemistry analyzer (Photo courtesy of Hitachi).

Source: labmedica

Enlarged Prostate: Molecular Mechanism Clue May Explain Link To Inflammation

A new study reveals an important molecular clue about how inflammation may lead to prostate enlargement or benign prostatic hyperplasia. The researchers believe their discovery may also lead to ways of overcoming resistance to androgen-targeted treatment for the condition.

Enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition in older men where the prostate gland is enlarged and not cancerous.

As the prostate gland enlarges, it presses against and pinches the urethra, the tube that allows urine to leave the bladder. Also, the bladder wall gradually thickens and the bladder may get weaker and lose the ability to empty completely.

Enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition in older men.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Two-Gene Panel Differentiates between Pediatric Bacterial and Viral Infections

A two-gene panel was shown to differentiate between viral and bacterial infections in children with fevers with 95-100% accuracy.

Since clinical features do not reliably distinguish bacterial from viral infection, many children worldwide receive unnecessary antibiotic treatment, while bacterial infection is missed in others. To solve this problem, investigators at Imperial College London (United Kingdom) sought to identify a blood RNA expression signature that could distinguish bacterial from viral infection in febrile children.

An example of an approximately 40,000 probe spotted RNA microarray with enlarged inset to show
detail (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

Source: labmedica

Cesarean Delivery May Increase Risk of Childhood Obesity

Children born by cesarean delivery may have an increased risk of becoming obese, compared with their siblings born by vaginal delivery, says study. This finding may have significant implications for the almost 1.3 million cesarean births per year in the United States.

Cesarean delivery is the most common U.S. surgical procedure and accounts for one third of deliveries nationwide.

The most common risk to children born via cesarean delivery is respiratory problems, while increasing evidence suggests children may also have an increased risk of other adverse health outcomes as adults.

Cesarean delivery can increase a child's risk of obesity into adulthood, study finds.

Source: medicalnewstoday

How To Prevent and Treat Fatty Liver

I have a Fatty Liver- Now what?

Many of my clients have digestive issues and think it is to do with a food they are eating. Sometimes they opt for allergy testing, others get blood work or an ultrasound done to see if there are any serious problems.

More and more clients are been diagnosed with a fatty liver and ask me now what do I do?

What is a fatty liver?

A fatty liver is the result of excess fat in the liver. This fat builds up when a person’s diet exceeds the amount of fat their body can handle. Having a fatty liver can lead to fatty liver disease, which then leads to chronic illnesses. Many who are overweight, have belly fat, are insulin resistant, pre- diabetic and who crave sugars and starches are likely have a fatty liver. Yet many who are ultimately healthy and not overweight are finding they to, have a fatty liver.

Source: justnaturallyhealthy

Monday, September 5, 2016

Antibiotics In Early Life Could Raise Children's Food Allergy Risk

Infection in the first year of life can be deadly for an infant, and antibiotic treatment is often the first port of call. But such treatment may have a downside; new research from the University of South Carolina finds early antibiotic exposure could raise a child's risk of food allergies.

While the study did not investigate the reasons behind this association, the researchers say it is likely down to changes in gut microbiota as a result of antibiotic treatment.

Lead author Dr. Bryan Love, of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, and colleagues report their results in the journal Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology.

Previous research has suggested that changes to the composition of gut bacteria in early life can have negative implications for health, and antibiotics are known to do just that.

Early antibiotic exposure could raise children's risk of food allergies.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Point-Of-Care Hemoglobin Testing: Methods And Relevance To Combat Anemia

Anemia is a condition that causes a high degree of personal disability but, historically, has lacked adequate resourcing in many public health systems. This situation is even less understandable when you consider that the main diagnostic, hemoglobin testing, is one of the most commonly used point-of-care (POC) tests, and one of the easiest to perform.

POC hemoglobin testing is often needed in settings where the use of a benchtop laboratory hematology analyzer is not practical. It is ideal for use in settings where resources are poor, or there is a need for mobility and simplicity in field use, or where turnaround time (TAT) for the test result needs to be short, as in acute clinical situations.

Source: MedicalLaboratoryObserver

Language Learning Boosts Brain Plasticity And Ability To Code New Information

By studying brain electrical activity of volunteers, researchers found that language acquisition enhances brain plasticity and capacity for learning. In particular, they note that early language learning plays a significant role in the rapid formation of memory circuits for coding new information.

In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the Higher School of Economics (HSE), in Moscow, Russia, and the University of Helsinki, in Finland, describe how they used EEG (electroencephalography) to probe the brain mechanisms involved in language learning in human volunteers.

Previous research has established that understanding the brain mechanisms involved in acquiring language helps enormously in the diagnosis and treatment of people with impaired speech following accidents, strokes, and other related conditions.

The researchers found that the more languages a volunteer had mastered, the faster the brain circuits
coding new information reacted.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Current Approaches For The Detection Of Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury is a recognized complication in hospitalized patients and is associated with a high morbidity and high mortality. This brief article aims to summarize the need for early detection of acute kidney injury and the current approach within NHS England to identify such patients.

Background

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a recognized complication in hospitalized patients. A report in 2009 from National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) suggested that AKI was frequently undetected in hospital patients thus contributing to patient morbidity and mortality.

Clinical guidelines for recognition and treatment for acute kidney injury were published by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) in 2013 and reported an associated mortality with AKI of more than 25–30%. This guideline also recognized the prevalence of AKI in the primary care population in patients with or without acute illness.

NICE also recognized the impact of AKI on healthcare resources, with costs (excluding those in the community) of £434–620 million per year, more than that associated with breast, lung and skin cancer combined.

Table 1. Common causes of acute kidney injury.

Source: cli-online

Breast-Feeding May Reduce Asthma Symptoms For At-Risk Infants

A new study provides further evidence of the health benefits of breast-feeding, after finding infants with a genetic susceptibility for asthma development are less likely to experience symptoms of the condition if they are breast-fed.

Asthma is estimated to affect around 8.6 percent of children and adolescents in the United States, making it one of the most common chronic childhood diseases.

Asthma symptoms are the same for children as for adults; these include wheezing, coughing, breathing problems, and chest tightness. However, because children have smaller airways, symptoms may be more severe.

As a result, asthma is the third leading cause of hospital stays and a leading cause of missed school days for children in the U.S.

While the precise causes of asthma remain unclear, studies have suggested the respiratory condition may arise as a result of environmental and genetic factors.

Breast-feeding may reduce respiratory symptoms for children genetically susceptible to asthma
development.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Biomedical Laboratory Science