News
Engineers can detect ultra rare proteins in blood using a cellphone camera
One of the frontiers of medical diagnostics is the race for more sensitive blood tests. The ability to detect extremely rare proteins could make a life-saving difference for many conditions, such as the early detection of certain cancers or the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, where the relevant biomarkers only appear in vanishingly small quantities.
Investigators figure out how to block new antibiotic resistance gene
A new antimicrobial-resistance gene, VCC-1, a ß-lactamase gene, has been discovered in benign close relatives of virulent Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera. Now, a team of Canadian researchers has found a way to block the VCC-1 enzyme, which disables that resistance gene. The research is published February 19th in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
Aetna and Ascension join blockchain pilot program
These new additions to the Synaptic Health Alliance demonstrate an increasing belief among insurers that blockchain will improve the accuracy and exchange of critical healthcare data.
Is blockchain technology ready for widespread use within healthcare? New developments show a growing interest among major health insurers to incorporate blockchain technology into their ongoing operations. As this happens, clinical laboratories will need a strategy, since a large proportion of all health data is made up of medical laboratory test results.
Prevalence, symptom burden, and natural history of deep vein thrombosis in people with advanced cancer in specialist palliative care units (HIDDen): a prospective longitudinal observational study
The prevalence of deep venous thrombosis in patients with advanced cancer is unconfirmed and it is unknown whether current international thromboprophylaxis guidance is applicable to this population. The study aimed to determine prevalence and predictors of femoral deep vein thrombosis in patients admitted to specialist palliative care units (SPCUs).
FDA warns about dangers of anti-aging blood transfusion treatments
It turns out that injecting old people with blood from healthy youngsters might not be the answer to health rejuvenation after all. That’s according to a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which suggests that these claims are not only most likely junk science, but that they also pose some major potential health risks.
Talking open science with Dr. Nitika Pant Pai
Known for her work developing HIV Smart!, an award-winning smartphone application that allows for home-based self-testing for HIV, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, Associate Professor in McGill University’s Department of Medicine, is also a fervent advocate for open science. Last fall Dr. Pant Pai, who is also a researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, was named as the lead curator for the launch of six new point-of-care testing (POCT) super collections on infectious diseases on ScienceOpen.
Dr. Pant Pai recently took time from her busy schedule to answer some questions about her work with ScienceOpen and how it can benefit researchers and, ultimately, patients.
Developing institutional champions for laboratory stewardship
The ever-changing landscape of healthcare delivery has driven laboratorians to bring a value-over-volume mindset to laboratory medicine. Laboratory stewardship refers to systems to ensure the proper ordering, retrieving, and interpreting of laboratory tests. It also encompasses fair payment for labs and fair financial treatment of patients.
Those faced with the daunting mission of overseeing a lab stewardship program look to colleagues in pharmacy, infectious diseases, and radiology for guidance. Successful hospitals have pharmacy formularies, antibiotic stewardship programs, and imaging guidance programs, all of which can lead to the false assumption that laboratory stewardship should easily follow suit.
Developing a blood test for pain
A breakthrough test developed by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers to measure pain in patients could help stem the tide of the opioid crisis in Indiana, and throughout the rest of the nation.
A study led by psychiatry professor Alexander Niculescu, MD, PhD, and published this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry tracked hundreds of participants at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis to identify biomarkers in the blood that can help objectively determine how severe a patient’s pain is. The blood test, the first of its kind, would allow physicians far more accuracy in treating pain—as well as a better long-term look at the patient’s medical future.
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