When in 1992 Dr Luigi Marzio Biasucci, head of the Sub-intensive Care Unit at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy, published with his team the first paper on C-reactive protein (CRP) in unstable angina, few people believed in the diagnostic power of biochemical features to measure the effects or progress of disease, illness, or a condition. Today, biomarker tests are part…
Alere International* has launched three new next generation products: Troponin I -- a single-analyte, improved sensitivity Troponin I (TnI) test; Cardio2 -- a two analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I and BNP, and Cardio3 -- a three analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I, BNP and CK-MB.
Biopsy developed into an invaluable diagnostic tool in many organ systems. Advanced imaging technologies have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward imaging-guided percutaneous or through the skin techniques, according to a new study appearing online and in the September print edition of the journal Radiology.
New biomarkers play a key role in individualised tumour therapy. They are important indicators for pathological processes in the body and for the use of adequate cancer drugs. In our European Hospital interview Professor Celso A Reis, from the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP*) in Portugal, discussed the current state of clinical use of…
Diabetes mellitus is a lingering disease – for a long time it causes subjectively few complaints or no complaints at all. Despite this, it is life-threatening – especially if undiagnosed, or diagnosed too late. However, although diabetes is the most widespread disease it is often only discovered by accident in a hospital, where many hospital doctors feel that diabetology is the responsibility…
It’s travel time, bringing all the possibilities of fun – as well as disease risk. The dengue virus, eg, is endemic in 124 countries. It is carried and transmitted by mosquitoes. Typically, what follows is a non-fatal febrile illness characterised by fever, muscle pain, headache, and nausea and vomiting lasting 5-7 days.
The MRSA problem has been ignored almost stoically in many European countries for the past 20 years. Thus the number of resistant Staphylococci cases exploded from 1% in 1990 around 25% in 2010. However, the recognition that an infection can result in additional hospital costs of up to €10,000 has led to a change in thinking. The Netherlands, for example, declared war on MRSA with ‘search and…
A small team of researchers at Barts and London School of Medicine and Dentistry, in London, has developed a rapid, cheap and effective kit to test for the presence of Clostridium difficile. And, they report that the new kit costs as little as 50 pence to £1 per test and can deliver results in under an hour, compared to commercial kits that cost up to £25 and in some cases take significantly…
A decade ago the battle against hospital-acquired MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strain) infections appeared to be lost, or at least without end. However, today, we see very important science-to-business achievements in this field. Report: Rostislav Kuklik
Eppendorf AG offers the first two-component PCR plate designed to be easily divisible, saving material and money when running smaller-scale experiments. These twin.tec unskirted 96-well plates fit almost all available PCR instruments and can be snapped into four separate 24-well segments and the empty wells saved for future use.
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announced the release of PRISCA version 5.0 Prenatal Risk Calculation Software available in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The upgraded version offers the industry’s only Shared Database that allows laboratories to compare data and integrate patient demographic factors into the analysis. Both of these features help increase the accuracy…
The Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has become the first site, worldwide, to evaluate the full serum work area (SWA) capabilities of the cobas 8000 high throughput clinical analyser.
The effectiveness of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening on reducing prostate cancer mortality was given a boost in 2009 when the conclusive findings from the 10-year European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) -- the world’s largest prostate cancer screening study – were published.
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) is holding its 2010 Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo July 25 - 29 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA. This year’s AACC Expo promises to be the largest, most comprehensive yet, featuring nearly 700 vendors showing the latest technology and products for every aspect in clinical laboratory testing.
More than 2 million over the world suffer from Multiple sclerosis (MS). It attacks the central nervous system and eventually renders most patients disabled. Although there is currently no cure, a breakthrough finding from a Tel Aviv University scientist and physician may lead to earlier diagnosis, more effective intervention, and perhaps even a cure for the autoimmune disease.
35 seconds. That's how fast caregivers can get blood gas results on the ABL90 FLEX, Radiometer's next-generation, cassette-based analyzer. The unmatched short time to results enables caregivers to spend less time on testing and more on patient care. The ABL90 FLEX measures 17 parameters, including blood gas, electrolytes, metabolites and CO-oximetry from just 65μL of whole blood.
A study published online today in the journal Genome Research offers surprising new clues into the genomic complexity of the giant Mimivirus, the largest known virus in the world. Previous studies have shown that unlike most viruses, the Mimivirus has more genes than many bacteria and performs functions that normally occur only in cellular organisms. The results of the most recent study, led by a…
Researchers from University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, have identified several cytokines, cytokine-related factors, and chemokines that increase significantly prior to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease onset. These findings confirm those of earlier studies which suggest that the risk of developing RA can be predicted and disease progression may be prevented. Complete findings of this study are…
Whereas, in the past, the diagnoses of infectious diseases focused on antibody detection, more recently laboratories aim to identify the agent itself, using the invaluable PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. We asked Prof Beatus Ofenloch-Hähnle, head of Reagent and System Development Immunology, at Roche Professional Diagnostics, and Benjamin Lilienfeld, Global Product Manager for Infectious…
The new Olympus DP21 digital microscopy camera for high-definition (HD) image capture is suitable for use in life science and materials microscopy. The 2.11 megapixel stand-alone camera allows easy observation, focusing and framing, while enabling the smooth display of real-time 1600x1200 (UXGA) images, the manufacturer reports.
Inverness Medical has produced the Clearview Malaria rapid test range for rapid in vitro detection of malarial antigens in whole blood. The test comes in two different formats: Clearview Malaria P.f. is a qualitative test for detecting the most common, virulent and deadly malaria causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum; Clearview Malaria Combo detects and differentiates between the Plasmodium…
Hôpital, Patients, Santé et Territories (HPST), a new hospital reform bill, was passed by the French Government and became law in July 2009. While directly related to hospitals it also places new importance on health from the patients’ perspective outside the hospital. Importantly for laboratory medicine, the act makes accreditation for both public and private laboratories obligatory rather…
The UK’s Babraham Institute, which conducts biomedical research, has established a ‘high throughput’ epigenomics sequencing facility to improve understanding of healthier ageing.
Organised by the Syndicat des Biologistes (SDB) the annual meeting in November, under the auspices of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFCC) and the French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC), the Journees Internationales de Biologie (JIB) aims to meet the needs of the 10,700…
A child's blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose level and other laboratory tests and simple office measures may predict the risk of developing type 2 diabetes nine and 26 years later, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.