Laboratory Category
Top NEWS Post 1-13-2009
Here is our Top News Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:
- Researchers Trick Bone Marrow Into Releasing Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Medicare Opening National Coverage Analysis to Review Pharmacogenomic Testing for Warfarin Use
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how an individual’s genetic makeup (genotype) affects how the body responds to medication. Everyone is different. Pharmacogenomics looks at the ways these variations can be used to determine if a patient will or will not respond to a drug.
Considerable public interest has been shown in the use of pharmacogenomic testing to predict a patient’s response to warfarin, most commonly marketed as Coumadin and used as an anticoagulant. The anticoagulant effect of coumadin is measured by the use of prothrombin time (PT) and the International Normalized Ratio (INR). Using these methods the ratio of the patient’s PT to the mean PT for a group of normal individuals is calculated.
Molecular Diagnostics: A New Paradigm
The next 10 to 15 years will produce major changes in the clinical laboratory regarding the use and application of molecular diagnostics. Today, molecular genetic testing promises to provide an entirely new means for individualizing and personalizing patient care at a level never imagined before. While currently utilization of molecular genetic tests is applied to 1 percent of the general population, it is estimated that molecular genetic testing in the era of personalized medicine will be applied to 60 percent of the general population. Molecular genetic testing is being touted as a new tool to provide clinicians with information needed to predict the risk of developing disease and therapeutic outcome before treatment.
