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Blood test could detect heart attack early

Researchers in Canada are developing a new blood test that they say shows promise of becoming a quicker and more accurate method for diagnosing whether patients with chest pain are having a heart attack. The test could save lives by allowing quicker intervention to prevent more advanced heart damage and could improve the quality of life for heart attack survivors, they say. In preliminary lab studies, the test produced results in just five minutes and had a 99 percent accuracy rate, according to the researchers.

Scientists identify 490 proteins in human blood serum

Researchers have identified or confirmed 490 proteins in human blood serum — nearly doubling the number of known serum proteins, according to a paper accepted for publication in the December issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. “We have performed the most extensive identification of proteins in serum to date,” said Joel Pounds, corresponding author and a PNNL staff scientist. “We studied blood serum because it holds clues to all the major processes in our bodies. We need to know what proteins exist in that serum to know how they might be used to predict disease susceptibility, monitor disease progression or diagnose disease.” These clues include proteins that “leak” from dead and dying cells, and proteins secreted into blood or released from tumors. Identifying these proteins allows scientists to conduct additional studies to define each protein’s functional role in cells and the body.

Test could reduce need for biopsies in prostate disease

Men who test positive for elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels sometimes freak out because they think it means they have cancer. To find out, a surgeon will often perform a biopsy. But researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration report that a new test using a single drop of blood could help distinguish between prostate cancer and benign conditions. The trick is identifying patterns of proteins found in patients’ blood serum.