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W O R L D ’ S C L I N I C A L L A B O R AT O R Y N E W S L E A D E R ISSN 1068-1760
Vol. 34 No. 1 • 2-3/ 2017
DAILY CLINICAL LAB NEWS
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Method Indicates Efficacy of Immune Cells he frequency of pathogen-specific and tumor-specific T cells and their functional activity reflect the effectiveness of immune responses and can serve as useful diagnostic and prognostic indicators. The immune system orchestrates large and small scale attacks on innumerous targets: viruses, bacteria, cancer, but it also
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method to speed and simplify the detection of proteins in blood and plasma has been described opening up the potential for diagnosing the early presence of infectious diseases or cancer during a doctor’s office visit. The new approach overcame several key challenges in detecting proteins that are biomarkers of disease. First,
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these proteins are often at low abundance in body fluids and accurately identifying them requires amplification processes. The new test takes about 10 minutes as opposed to two to four hours for current state-of-the-art tests. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (CA, USA; www.ucla.edu) devised an approach Cont’d on page 6
Image: Courtesy of Stanford University Medical Center
New Protein Test Offers Breakthough in Early Parkinson’s Diagnosis
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he majority of primary care patients referred for bowel endoscopy do not have significant colorectal disease (SCD), and are unnecessarily exposed to a small but realistic risk of severe endoscopyassociated complications.
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Simple Blood Test Vastly Improves Severe Liver Disease Detection
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new non-invasive method of predicting the risk of developing a severe form of liver disease could ensure patients receive early and potentially life-saving medical intervention before irreversible damage is done. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most extreme form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD),
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Fecal Blood Test Avoids Unnecessary Endoscopies
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uruli ulcer is a subcutaneous skin disease listed among the neglected tropical diseases. Early case detection and management is very important to reduce morbidity and the accompanied characteristic disfiguring nature of the disease. The diagnosis of Buruli ulcer (BU) is based on clinical evidence that can lead to misdiagnosis, and microbiological confirmation is essential to reduce abuse of drugs, since the
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Image: An illustration of the neurons in the brain of a person with Parkinson's
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esearchers have for the first time identified a fungus, Candida tropicalis, as a key factor in the development of Crohn’s disease in humans. They have also linked a new bacterium to the bacteria previously associated with Crohn’s. The groundbreaking findings could facilitate development of new treatments and ultimately cures for the debilitating inflammatory bowel disease. The study was conducted by an international
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Novel Method Diagnoses Buruli Ulcer
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novel real-time quakinginduced conversion-based assay offers a breakthrough in the early detection of Parkinson’s disease. Till now no definitive early test existed for the disease, which was traditionally diagnosed in the course of years by way of physical observations and neurological tests. See article on page 7
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Fungus Key Factor In Crohn’s Disease
Technique Speeds Up Detection of Infectious Diseases
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which is a range of conditions caused by a build-up of fat in the liver. With NASH, inflammation of the liver damages the cells, potentially causing scarring and cirrhosis. An international team working with the scientists at the Cardiff University (UK; www.cardiff.ac.uk) used Cont’d on page 8
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