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Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics 2016Heart failure (HF) affects approximately 23 million individuals worldwide and this number is increasing, due to an aging and growing population. Early detection of HF is... (Review)
Review
Heart failure (HF) affects approximately 23 million individuals worldwide and this number is increasing, due to an aging and growing population. Early detection of HF is crucial in the management of this debilitating disease. Current diagnostic methods for HF rely heavily on clinical imaging techniques and blood analysis, which makes them less than ideal for population-based screening purposes. Studies focusing on developing novel biomarkers for HF have utilized various techniques and biological fluids, including urine and saliva. Promising results from these studies imply that these body fluids can be used in evaluating the clinical manifestation of HF and will one day be integrated into a clinical workflow and facilitate HF management.
Topics: Biomarkers; Body Fluids; Heart Failure; Humans; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
PubMed: 26788983
DOI: 10.1586/14737159.2016.1144474 -
Brain : a Journal of Neurology Aug 2014Cerebral malaria is a dangerous complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection, which takes a devastating toll on children in sub-Saharan Africa. Although autopsy... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
Cerebral malaria is a dangerous complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection, which takes a devastating toll on children in sub-Saharan Africa. Although autopsy studies have improved understanding of cerebral malaria pathology in fatal cases, information about in vivo neurovascular pathogenesis is scarce because brain tissue is inaccessible in life. Surrogate markers may provide insight into pathogenesis and thereby facilitate clinical studies with the ultimate aim of improving the treatment and prognosis of cerebral malaria. The retina is an attractive source of potential surrogate markers for paediatric cerebral malaria because, in this condition, the retina seems to sustain microvascular damage similar to that of the brain. In paediatric cerebral malaria a combination of retinal signs correlates, in fatal cases, with the severity of brain pathology, and has diagnostic and prognostic significance. Unlike the brain, the retina is accessible to high-resolution, non-invasive imaging. We aimed to determine the extent to which paediatric malarial retinopathy reflects cerebrovascular damage by reviewing the literature to compare retinal and cerebral manifestations of retinopathy-positive paediatric cerebral malaria. We then compared retina and brain in terms of anatomical and physiological features that could help to account for similarities and differences in vascular pathology. These comparisons address the question of whether it is biologically plausible to draw conclusions about unseen cerebral vascular pathogenesis from the visible retinal vasculature in retinopathy-positive paediatric cerebral malaria. Our work addresses an important cause of death and neurodisability in sub-Saharan Africa. We critically appraise evidence for associations between retina and brain neurovasculature in health and disease, and in the process we develop new hypotheses about why these vascular beds are susceptible to sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes.
Topics: Biomarkers; Child; Humans; Malaria, Cerebral; Plasmodium falciparum; Retinal Vessels
PubMed: 24578549
DOI: 10.1093/brain/awu001 -
Nutrients May 2022The gold-standard techniques for measuring insulin sensitivity and secretion are well established. However, they may be perceived as invasive and expensive for use in... (Review)
Review
The Use and Effectiveness of Selected Alternative Markers for Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion Compared with Gold Standard Markers in Dietary Intervention Studies in Individuals without Diabetes: Results of a Systematic Review.
BACKGROUND
The gold-standard techniques for measuring insulin sensitivity and secretion are well established. However, they may be perceived as invasive and expensive for use in dietary intervention studies. Thus, surrogate markers have been proposed as alternative markers for insulin sensitivity and secretion. This systematic review aimed to identify markers of insulin sensitivity and secretion in response to dietary intervention and assess their suitability as surrogates for the gold-standard methodology.
METHODS
Three databases, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane were searched, intervention studies and randomised controlled trials reporting data on dietary intake, a gold standard of analysis of insulin sensitivity (either euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp or intravenous glucose tolerance test and secretion (acute insulin response to glucose), as well as surrogate markers for insulin sensitivity (either fasting insulin, area under the curve oral glucose tolerance tests and HOMA-IR) and insulin secretion (disposition index), were selected.
RESULTS
We identified thirty-five studies that were eligible for inclusion. We found insufficient evidence to predict insulin sensitivity and secretion with surrogate markers when compared to gold standards in nutritional intervention studies.
CONCLUSIONS
Future research is needed to investigate if surrogate measures of insulin sensitivity and secretion can be repeatable and reproducible in the same way as gold standards.
Topics: Biomarkers; Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus; Glucose Clamp Technique; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Resistance
PubMed: 35631177
DOI: 10.3390/nu14102036 -
Clinical and Applied... 2023Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with endothelial injury and hemostatic abnormalities. However, the diagnostic role of coagulation parameters and natural anticoagulants...
Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with endothelial injury and hemostatic abnormalities. However, the diagnostic role of coagulation parameters and natural anticoagulants in predicting PE has not been explored in Ghana. This study assessed plasma levels of these factors as surrogate markers of PE and its subtypes. This case-control study included 90 women with PE (cases) and 90 normotensive pregnant women (controls). Blood samples were drawn for the estimation of complete blood count and coagulation tests. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and the calculation of the international normalized ratio (INR) were determined by an ACL elite coagulometer while the levels of protein C (PC), protein S (PS), antithrombin III (ATIII), and D-dimers were also measured using the solid-phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. All statistical analyses were performed using the R Language for Statistical Computing. Results showed significantly (< .05) shortened APTT (28.25 s) and higher D-dimer levels (1219.00 ng/mL) among PE women, as well as low levels of PC (1.02 µg/mL), PS (6.58 µg/mL), and ATIII (3.99 ng/mL). No significant difference was found in terms of PT and INR. From the receiver operating characteristic analysis, PC, PS, and ATIII could significantly predict PE and its subtypes at certain cutoffs with high accuracies (area under the curve [AUC] ≥0.70). Most women with PE are in a hypercoagulable state with lower natural anticoagulants. PC, PS, and ATIII are good predictive and diagnostic markers of PE and its subtypes (early-onset PE [EO-PE] and late-onset PE [LO-PE]) and should be explored in future studies.
Topics: Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Anticoagulants; Ghana; Pre-Eclampsia; Case-Control Studies; Blood Coagulation Factors; Protein C; Biomarkers
PubMed: 37787124
DOI: 10.1177/10760296231204604 -
Journal of Internal Medicine Oct 2020
Topics: Biomarkers; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Disease; Humans; Lysine; Methylamines; Myocardial Infarction; Oxides; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 32424985
DOI: 10.1111/joim.13086 -
Cancer Journal (Sudbury, Mass.) 2018A primary goal of personalized medicine is to develop tumor-specific biomarkers to aid in treatment selection and to better evaluate response to targeted therapies. The... (Review)
Review
A primary goal of personalized medicine is to develop tumor-specific biomarkers to aid in treatment selection and to better evaluate response to targeted therapies. The assessment of circulating blood markers as surrogate real-time biopsies of disease status, termed liquid biopsies, has been under investigation. There are many different types of liquid biopsies each with different functionalities and limitations. These include tumor markers, circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, and extracellular vesicles including exosomes. Multiple clinical trials have evaluated liquid biopsies as prognostic biomarkers with positive results. Additional studies are underway to evaluate liquid biopsies as predictive biomarkers, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, and surrogate efficacy endpoints for treatment response evaluation. There are several challenges in and barriers to implementation of liquid biopsies into clinical trials and subsequently into routine clinical practice, which are addressed in this review.
Topics: Biomarkers, Tumor; Clinical Trials as Topic; Humans; Liquid Biopsy; Neoplasms; Precision Medicine
PubMed: 29601331
DOI: 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000309 -
PloS One 2017This study investigated potential associations between novel biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and other surrogate markers for health.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated potential associations between novel biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and other surrogate markers for health.
METHODS
Community sample of 170 (92 boys and 78 girls) children aged 8-11 years. Total fat mass (TBF) and abdominal fat (AFM) were measured by Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Total body fat was also expressed as percentage of total body mass (BF%), and body fat distribution was calculated as AFM/TBF. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2PEAK), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and pulse pressure (PP) were measured. Echocardiography was performed. Left atrial size (LA) and left ventricular mass (LVM) were measured. A follow-up DXA scan was available in 152 children (84 boys and 68 girls). Frozen serum samples were analyzed for cystatin B, cathepsin L and cathepsin D.
RESULTS
Partial correlations between cystatin B versus lnTBF, lnBF%, lnAFM, AFM/TBF, VO2PEAK and PP were; r = 0.38, 0.36, 0.38, 0.29, -0.25 and 0.25, P = 0.001 or less for all. Weaker predominantly non-significant correlations were found for cathepsin L, whereas cathepsin D was not related to any surrogate markers for health. No significant correlations were found between biomarkers and change in body fat over 2 years.
CONCLUSION
Findings from this community-based cohort of young children show that surrogate markers for cardiovascular disease such as total fat mass, percent body fat, abdominal fat, body fat distribution, maximal oxygen uptake and pulse pressure were all associated with cystatin B. This was not found for cathepsin L or cathepsin D.
Topics: Absorptiometry, Photon; Biomarkers; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cathepsin D; Cathepsin L; Child; Cystatin B; Female; Humans; Male
PubMed: 29149174
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187494 -
World Journal of Gastroenterology Apr 2021Mucosal healing (MH) has emerged as a key therapeutic target in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and achievement of this goal is documented by endoscopy with biopsy....
BACKGROUND
Mucosal healing (MH) has emerged as a key therapeutic target in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and achievement of this goal is documented by endoscopy with biopsy. However, colonoscopy is burdensome and invasive, and substitution with an accurate noninvasive biomarker is desirable.
AIM
To summarize published data regarding the performance of noninvasive biomarkers in assessing MH in IBD patients.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of studies that reported the performance of biomarkers in diagnosing MH in patients with IBD. The main outcome measure was to review the diagnostic accuracy of serum and fecal markers that showed promising utility in assessing MH.
RESULTS
We screened 1301 articles, retrieved 46 manuscripts and included 23 articles for full-text analysis. The majority of the included manuscripts referred to fecal markers (12/23), followed by circulatory markers (8/23); only 3/23 of the included manuscripts investigated combined markers (serum and/or fecal markers). Fecal calprotectin (FC) was the most investigated fecal marker for assessing MH. In ulcerative colitis, for cutoff levels ranging between 58 mcg/g and 490 mcg/g, the sensitivity was 89.7%-100% and the specificity was 62%-93.3%. For Crohn's disease, the cutoff levels of FC ranged from 71 mcg/g to 918 mcg/g (sensitivity 50%-95.9% and specificity 52.3%-100%). The best performance for a serum marker was observed for the endoscopic healing index, which showed a comparable accuracy to the measurement of FC and a higher accuracy than the measurement of serum C-reactive protein.
CONCLUSION
Several promising biomarkers of MH are emerging but cannot yet substitute for endoscopy with biopsy due to issues with reproducibility and standardization.
Topics: Biomarkers; Colitis, Ulcerative; Feces; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex; Reproducibility of Results; Severity of Illness Index
PubMed: 33967560
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i16.1828 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023The newly proposed Metabolic Visceral Fat Score (METS-VF) is considered a more effective measure for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) than other obesity indicators. This...
The newly proposed Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat is a reliable tool for identifying non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, requiring attention to age-specific effects in both sexes.
OBJECTIVE
The newly proposed Metabolic Visceral Fat Score (METS-VF) is considered a more effective measure for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) than other obesity indicators. This study aimed to reveal the association between METS-VF and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and its variations across age groups within both sexes.
METHODS
Data from 14,251 medical examiners in the NAGALA project were employed in this study. 3D fitted surface plots were constructed based on multivariate logistic regression models to visualize the isolated and combined effects of aging and METS-VF on NAFLD. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to compare the diagnostic performance of METS-VF with other VAT surrogate markers in predicting NAFLD.
RESULTS
The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that each unit increase in METS-VF was independently associated with a 333% and 312% increase in the odds of NAFLD in males and females, respectively. Additionally, the 3D fitted surface plot showed that age significantly influenced the association between METS-VF and the odds of NAFLD in both sexes, as follows: (i) In males, when METS-VF was less than 6.2, the METS-VF-related odds of NAFLD increased gradually with age in the 20-45 age group, reached a plateau in the 45-65 age group, and then decreased in the group above 65 years old; however, when male METS-VF exceeded 6.2, aging and METS-VF combined to further increase the odds of NAFLD in all age groups, particularly in the 45-65 age group. (ii) In females, aging seemed to reduce METS-VF-related odds of NAFLD in the 18-40 age group, but significantly increased it in the 40-60 age group, particularly for those with higher METS-VF levels. Further ROC analysis revealed that compared to other VAT surrogate markers, METS-VF showed the highest diagnostic accuracy for NAFLD in females, especially in those under 45 years of age [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.9256].
CONCLUSIONS
This study firstly revealed a significant positive correlation between METS-VF and the odds of NAFLD, with METS-VF surpassing other VAT surrogate markers in NAFLD diagnosis. Moreover, age significantly influenced the METS-VF-related odds of NAFLD and METS-VF's diagnostic efficacy for NAFLD in both sexes.
Topics: Female; Male; Humans; Child; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Metabolic Syndrome; Intra-Abdominal Fat; Biomarkers; Seizures; Age Factors
PubMed: 38089634
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1281524 -
Current Diabetes Reports Jun 2019Quantitative markers for beta-cell mass (BCM) in human pancreas are currently lacking. Medical imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) markers for beta-cell... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Quantitative markers for beta-cell mass (BCM) in human pancreas are currently lacking. Medical imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) markers for beta-cell restricted targets may provide an accurate and non-invasive measurement of BCM, to assist diagnosis and treatment of metabolic disease. GPR44 was recently discovered as a putative marker for beta cells and this review summarizes the developments so far.
RECENT FINDINGS
Several small molecule binders targeting GPR44 have been radiolabeled for PET imaging and evaluated in vitro and in small and large animal models. C-AZ12204657 and C-MK-7246 displayed a dose-dependent and GPR44-mediated binding to beta cells both in vitro and in vivo, with negligible uptake in exocrine pancreas. GPR44 represents an attractive target for visualization of BCM. Further progress in radioligand development including clinical testing is expected to clarify the role of GPR44 as a surrogate marker for BCM in humans.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Humans; Insulin-Secreting Cells; Pancreas; Positron-Emission Tomography
PubMed: 31250117
DOI: 10.1007/s11892-019-1164-z