1,721,003 research outputs found
Analisi delle citochine nella pratica clinica
No full textCytochine’s assays in clinical practice. Cytokines are a family of molecules with a fundamental role in autocrine and paracrine signaling, indeed they are fundamental in local intercommunication between cells, but they can also play an endocrine action between different tissues. Cytokines are generally discussed in the contexts of nonspecific (innate) and specific (adaptive) immune responses and inflammatory responses, but they also coordinate other biological processes. The role of cytokines in human diseases is continuously being studied, their quantification has entered current use for the evaluation of inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. The article discusses and compares the most common and most innovative methods for the quantification of cytokines in biological fluid
Criteri per la valutazione delle caratteristiche analitiche e della utilità clinica dei nuovi biomarcatori cardiaci
No full textState of the Art of Immunoassay Methods for B-Type Natriuretic Peptides: an Update
No full textThe aim of this review article is to give an update on the state of the art of the immunoassay methods for the measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its related peptides.
Using chromatographic procedures, several studies reported an increasing number of circulating peptides related to BNP in human plasma of patients with heart failure. These peptides may have reduced or even no biological activity. Furthermore, other studies have
suggested that, using immunoassays that are considered specific for BNP, the precursor of the peptide hormone, proBNP, constitutes a major portion of the peptide measured in plasma of patients with heart failure. Because BNP immunoassay methods show large (up to 50%) systematic differences in values, the use of identical decision values for all immunoassay methods, as suggested by the most recent international guidelines, seems unreasonable. Since proBNP significantly cross-reacts with all commercial immunoassay methods considered specific for BNP, manufacturers should test and clearly declare the degree of cross-reactivity of glycosylated and non-glycosylated proBNP in their BNP immunoassay methods. Clinicians should take into account that there are large systematic differences between methods when they compare results from different laboratories that use different BNP immunoassays. On the
other hand, clinical laboratories should take part in external quality assessment (EQA) programs to evaluate the bias of their method in comparison to other BNP methods. Finally, the authors believe that the development of more specific methods for the active peptide, BNP1–32, should reduce the systematic differences between methods and result in better harmonization of results
Clinical implications of a recent adjustment to the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T assay: Some results
Full text linkLetter to the Editor. Recently, some concerns have been reported about a technical
bulletin by Roche Diagnostics GmbH (Mannheim,
Germany) regarding the adjustment to the calibration
curve of the Elecsys Troponin T high-sensitivity (hs) assay
[1]. According to the bulletin, the goal of the manufacturer
was to recalibrate the control materials of the Troponin T
hs assays to return to the original assay specifications. The
revised lots of calibrators (lots 167345 and 167650) should
yield measurable cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentrations
in a greater proportion of patient samples for which
the concentrations were undetectable with previous lots,
including lot 163704 [1]. This adjustment regarding calibration
materials may have major implication for patient
care, including the recalculation of the 99th percentile
value for cTnT assay [1], which is the cornerstone of the
definition of myocardial infarction [2].
The aim of the present report is to compare the
results obtained by measuring several plasma samples
of healthy subjects and patients with acute or chronic
cardiac diseases to give the users of Elecsys Troponin
T hs assay some information on the difference in cTnT
values measured using the previous and the new recalibrated
lots
Markers of cardiac remodeling and fibrosis [Marcatori di rimodellamento e fibrosi cardiaca]
No full textCardiac remodeling is considered the determinant of the clinical progression of heart failure. It is defined as a genome expression resulting in molecular, cellular and interstitial changes, clinically manifested as changes in size, shape and function of the heart. Ventricular remodeling occurs progressively in untreated patients after large myocardial infarction and in those with longstanding cardiomyopathy. Myocyte hypertrophy, cellular apoptosis and increased interstitial collagen deposition are the anatomopathological alterations leading to increased myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis increase left ventricular volume and induce perturbation in the left ventricular chamber geometry, leading to cardiac dysfunction. As a result, the assessment of cardiac fibrosis holds important clinical value in patients with heart failure. Accordingly, there is an increasing interest in the development of new markers for cardiac fibrosis and a number of laboratory tests have been recently proposed. The aim of the present article is to discuss analytical performances and clinical relevance of these markers
Rilevanza clinica e interpretazione dei marcatori biochimici nello scompenso cardiaco
No full textClinical relevance and interpretation of biochemical markers in heart failure. Heart failure (HF) is a global
problem with an estimated prevalence of 38 million patients worldwide. Both prevalence and incidence of HF increase
progressively with population ageing (prevalence ≥10% in people >75 years), especially in the high-income countries.
HF is considered as the fatal event of all cardiovascular disorders. Despite some progress in diagnosis and treatment,
its prognosis is worse than that of most cancers. The disease is heterogeneous in its clinical presentation and the
diagnosis is not based on a single test, but on a combination of the history, physical examination and appropriate
investigations, including some laboratory tests. As a consequence, the accuracy of diagnosis by clinical signs alone
is often inadequate, especially in the early asymptomatic stage of HF. For these reasons, there is an increasing
interest in the development of new biomarkers useful for the diagnosis, prognosis and follow-up of patients with HF.
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of biomarkers recommended by international guidelines for HF,
discussing their clinical impact and the interpretation of results. Furthermore, a possible strategy for the development
and evaluation of novel prognostic biomarkers for HF will be suggested
Clinical implications of a recent adjustment to the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T assay: some results.
No full text
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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