News
FDA recommends Zika testing for all blood donated in U.S.
"Over 8,000 travel associated and over 2,000 non-travel associated cases of Zika have been reported in the United States and U.S. territories," Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration(FDA)’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters. Given the frequency of US citizens' travels, there is a risk that people without symptoms of Zika could donate blood and transmit the virus.
The FDA recommended last Friday that all blood donated in the United States and its territories should be tested for Zika virus, as it moves to prevent transmission of the virus through the blood supply. The agency said its decision to expand blood screening in the United States was based on concerns about more cases of local transmission in Florida. "About 1 percent of donations in Puerto Rico have tested positive for Zika virus," Marks said.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to roll out its recommendations in stages. In states and territories with local, mosquito-borne transmission, the recommendations will go into effect immediately, effecting Florida and Puerto Rico. For the rest of country, the guidelines must be implemented within 12 weeks.
Related Article: Vaccines protect monkeys against Zika infection
Alberta Health Services, Dynalife agree on five year extension for medical testing
Alberta Health Services (AHS) has reached an agreement with Dynalife that will see the company continue to deliver medical testing in Edmonton and northern Alberta for an additional five years. The deal comes just a few months after the Alberta government announced its intention to begin reforming the lab services to reduce the role of private providers.
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said installing a more integrated, publicly delivered system remains the goal, but it is going to be a complicated, multi-year endeavour. The new deal with Dynalife will ensure stability for patients and Dynalife’s 1,200 staff, she said. The deal will take effect next spring and run until March 2022. AHS said a letter of intent with Dynalife was signed Aug. 17. The two sides are now negotiating terms.
The company’s current deal with AHS is worth about $130 million a year. Mauro Chies, vice-president of clinical support services for AHS, said the deal gives sufficient time to not only develop the new lab services model, but also to properly map out how it will be implemented. As well, construction of a new lab facility is still being considered.
Lab techs to perform after-hours X-rays at Bonavista hospital
There are changes coming to the X-ray department at the hospital in Bonavista, NL. In 2017, emergency X-ray services will once again be available between 4 and 8 p.m., but will not be performed by an X-ray technologist. Instead, all of the hospital's laboratory technologists will be cross-trained to perform X-rays. If the lab tech is called back to do blood work in an emergency situation, they will also be able to do an X-ray.
"This is the outcome that we were looking at doing, getting call-in service for the most serious cases," says Neil King, Liberal MHA for Bonavista. The X-ray services between 4 and 8 p.m. was a reduction announced in May, in response to the provincial government's cost-cutting budget. Those service cuts prompted a number of protests this year from community members and workers. By eliminating those services during those hours, Eastern Health expected to save approximately $90,000.
Alere sues Abbott laboratories to force merger
Alere Inc. escalated its fight with reluctant buyer Abbott Laboratories by filing a lawsuit against its potential acquirer to push the deal forward.
Abbott agreed to buy Alere in February for nearly $5 billion. Since then, Alere disclosed it has received a subpoena regarding a foreign corruption investigation over payments in Africa, Asia and Latin America and it said separately that federal investigators are seeking information about government-billing practices. The company was also late in filing its 2015 annual report.
Earlier this month Abbott said the deal might not be completed "on a timely basis, or at all." Alere rejected an offer of up to $50 million to terminate the deal. Alere said Friday that it would "take all actions necessary" to make Abbott complete the deal. Abbott said the lawsuit was without merit. "Abbott is compliant with its obligations under the merger agreement and continues to work toward regulatory approvals, despite Alere’s nearly six-month delay in filing its annual report", a spokeswoman for Abbott said.
Hematology
Platelets use mechanical forces to successfully clot blood
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology used a unique tool called a "fluorescence biomembrane force probe" to measure the force applied to a single molecule on a platelet. "We visualized the conformational changes in a single protein and the subsequent signaling event inside a cell at the same time," explained Lining (Arnold) Ju, PhD.
The team used the probe to apply mechanical forces to a protein called glycoprotein Iba (GPIba), which human platelets use to receive mechanical signals for transduction into chemical signals. While applying mechanical forces to GPIba, researchers observed a couple of different reactions occur. One is the release of different calcium ions, which "alter adhesion between platelets and other components of the clotting process," a sign of the conversion of mechanical information into chemical signals. They also saw two geometrically separate domains of the GPIba protein unfold in a synergistic manner, an event that gives platelets detailed information about the magnitude and length of the mechanical forces acting upon it. Along with information gleaned about the mechanical forces from the release of calcium ions, platelets are then equipped with the tools to trigger the appropriate clotting process.
These findings highlight new targets for therapeutic intervention in cases of excessive clotting, a complication that is known to lead to myocardial infarction, stroke, and even death.
Microbiology
Lab-on-a-stick: Miniaturized clinical testing for fast detection of antibiotic resistance
A portable power-free test for the rapid detection of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been developed by academics at Loughborough University and the University of Reading. The test, which is at least 12 times faster than current microbiological tests, is an inexpensive microfluidic strip - comprising of tiny test tubes about the size of a human hair - capable of identifying bacteria found in urine samples and checking if they are resistant to common antibiotics.
The study showed that dipstick tests routinely used for testing in a variety of scenarios from soil pH strips for the garden to pregnancy tests, could be updated using the latest approach in miniaturized testing technology to help form the basis of a new generation of advanced, yet affordable, point-of-care tests for global diagnostics. As part of the study, different cellular tests were carried out to demonstrate the full potential of Lab-on-a-Stick devices for a range of clinical situations, including anti-microbial resistance, bacterial identification, and ABO blood typing.
Research
The philanthropic patient - Another reason why lab testing matters
A US based study wanted to understand how willing Americans were to participate in medical research by allowing their remnant clinical samples to be used, provided that the specimens and all data were de-identified and untraceable. Additionally, patient's willingness was assessed in allowing for extra blood to be drawn specifically for research purposes.
Consistent with the hypotheses, the majority of Americans (83%) were willing to allow use of de-identified clinical remnants and associated data for medical research. Nearly two-thirds were willing to donate an extra tube of blood. Two-thirds of the study population also indicated that they would agree to be contacted at a later date by their healthcare provider about potential specimen donation requests should they arise.
Other key findings from the study were as follows:
- Primary emotional drivers for allowing specimen use were altruistic and progressive (philanthropic patients);
- Patients who had exhibited medically philanthropic behaviors in the past, such were even more willing to donate (91% of blood donors and 90% of registered organ donors);
- While federal law does not currently require patient consent for the use of remnant, de-identified specimens, 69% of the population would like to be asked.
New test reveals risk of Alzheimer’s disease in just three hours
People carrying the APOE4 genetic mutation are up to 12 times more likely to develop dementia in later life, making them ideal candidates for early intervention to prevent the disease. The new £25 test, developed by London-based biotech company Randox Laboaratories uses a biochip – a type of ‘lab on a chip’ – to quickly analyze genetic material in the blood and look for mutant genes. "This is the first time that we have used this biochip technology to test for an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease," said Emma C. Harte, PhD, a research scientist at Randox Laboratories.
The Randox biochip simply analyzes protein in the blood, in one process rather than several as traditionally completed. Tests have shown that it is 100% accurate, meaning there is no chance of a false positive, or the chip missing a high-risk patient. Dr David Reynolds, Chief Scientific Officer of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: "As a person’s APOE status can influence their Alzheimer’s risk, knowing it can help identify people to recruit to certain research studies and provide useful information for researchers studying the disease in large numbers of people."
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