Joseph Constanceeditorial@labpulse.comAlzheimer'sNew biomarker could detect early Alzheimer’s before symptomsIn addition, the findings have some implications for taking brain-boosting dietary supplements that contain the amino acid serine. The key compound responsible for producing serine in the body is PHGDH. The scientists reported that PHGDH mRNA and protein levels had increased in the brains of two mouse models of Alzheimer's disease or tauopathy.May 4, 2022Diagnostic TechnologiesDo reference levels for pediatric biomarkers need to be updated?Accurate PRIs are critical for clinical decision-making. A child's physical development and growth to adulthood requires appropriate growth and maturation of their body and organ systems; this growth is accompanied by fluctuations in biomarker concentrations at various stages of healthy development. For clinicians to correctly diagnose and treat disease in children, the PRIs used must accurately reflect these biochemical and physiological changes.April 27, 2022InfectiousLateral flow tests miss significant number of COVID infectionsIn addition, although the public health benefits of using LFTs within asymptomatic screening programs might outweigh concerns about sensitivity, clinicians and policy makers must be aware of the limitations involved, and formal cost effectiveness analyses should be performed.February 23, 2022PCRNegative RT-PCR test does not rule out COVID-19Rutgers University investigators and colleagues elsewhere found a high likelihood of acute COVID-19 among patients who tested negative on RT-PCR and who had the usual signs and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, even though they weren't undergoing treatment.February 17, 2022Medical ImagingUse of adapted D-dimer thresholds rules out PE in high-risk patientsBut instead of using different strategies on different patients, hospitals should standardize one strategy for their institution's use to gain the most benefit, wrote Dr. Frederikus Klok, PhD, of the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues. The researchers also indicated that using such tests would reduce the need for clinical imaging.December 15, 2021GuidelinePSA testing rebounds after U.S. task force reverses guidancePSA testing grew at a 12.5% relative increase for men ages 40 to 89 from 2016 to 2019, according to a large national cohort study of over 8 million privately insured men. Significant increases in testing were seen among patients 55 to 69 years, for whom screening is specified by the guideline. But testing also grew in men ages 40 to 54 years, and among those 70 years or older, for whom routine PSA screening is not recommended.November 14, 2021Prostate CancerAI of pathology slides improves prostate cancer diagnosisThe study suggests that AI has the potential to transform histopathological evaluation and optimize the risk stratification and clinical management of prostate cancer, giving it more of a precision approach, according to the study's authors, from the University of Wisconsin and elsewhere.November 3, 2021Cancer of Unknown PrimaryNGS is transforming diagnostics, but is it right for everyone?Sequencing shows if a gene contains variants or mutations linked to an illness or a disorder. NGS offers a way to complement, or replace, many conventional laboratory tests, and it is finding applications in microbiome analysis, metagenomics, transcriptome profiling, infectious disease and oncology diagnosis, pathogen discovery, and public health surveillance, among other areas.August 31, 2021ValidationNew AI-powered imaging tool estimates hemoglobin levelsThe microfluidic chip in combination with the AI-powered automated microscope has a turnaround time of 10 minutes, including incubation time. This biochemical assay, which can derive the total as well as differential counts of blood cells, achieved a sensitivity of 92.3% and a specificity of 53.8%, wrote lead author Lokanathan Arcot of SigTuple Technologies of Karnataka, India, and colleagues.March 1, 2021PCRCRISPR assay as good as PCR for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infectionsClustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a bacterial immune system component that contains a programmable protein able to cut DNA or RNA. In a study published February 11 in JAMA Network, researchers used a specific CRISPR-based assay, Cas13-based, rugged, equitable, scalable testing (CREST).February 23, 2021Previous PagePage 2 of 6Next PageTop StoriesRegulatory ApprovalSeegene obtains IVDR certification for 30 diagnostic assaysThe newly certified assays include eight for gastrointestinal infections, seven for women's diseases, five for respiratory diseases, four for tuberculosis, three for meningitis, two for human papillomavirus (HPV), and one for drug resistance.Policy and RegulationAdvocacy groups in letter urge FDA to develop regulations for lab-developed testsCollaborationNucleai, Adlai Nortye collaborate on biomarkers for clinical trialsCOVID-19Long COVID symptoms reported by 17% of unvaccinated peopleSponsor ContentVisit our Molecular Diagnostics Community
