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New information on viral antigens could improve COVID-19 testing

Researchers in France and China have characterized antibody responses to a wide range of antigens present on severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 May 2020

LabVantage Solutions announces new purpose-built Biobanking LIMS Accelerator for managing COVID-19 testing

LabVantage Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of laboratory informatics solutions and services including purpose-built LIMS that allow labs to go live faster and at a lower total cost, today announced the availability of its new purpose-built COVID-19 LIMS solution.

From LabVantage Solutions 30 Apr 2020

Consumer beware: Coronavirus antibody tests are still a work in progress

After hearing for months about serious access issues involving tests that diagnose COVID-19 based on swabs from the nose or throat, Americans are being inundated with reports about promising new tests that look for signs of infection in the blood.

27 Apr 2020

Siemens Healthineers to expand SARS-CoV-2 testing to include a total antibody test to aid in the COVID-19 pandemic

Siemens Healthineers announced today it is significantly expanding its infectious disease testing capabilities to aid in the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the critical need for accurate diagnostic testing to manage COVID-19, the company has developed a laboratory-based total antibody test1 to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood.

From Siemens Healthineers Point of Care Diagnostics 24 Apr 2020

Antibody testing in L.A. county reveals the magnitude of coronavirus spread

After weeks of physical and social distancing measures in place, many in the U.S. are worrying about how soon they can return to normal life. However, to lift restrictions, it is critical to ascertain accurate numbers of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) carriers. Doing so will decrease the chance or even avoid the second wave of infections.

22 Apr 2020

Antibody detection for COVID-19 - promise and risks

Recently, several research groups emphasized how the pervasive screening for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies may prove pivotal in determining infection seroprevalence in a given population defining previous exposure, screening health care workers, but also identifying highly reactive individuals that may act as donors for the therapeutic use of their convalescent serum.

20 Apr 2020

Penn Medicine launches convalescent plasma therapy trial for COVID-19 patients

Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients -- an experimental approach of giving a transfusion of plasma collected from a donor who has recovered from COVID-19 to a patient with an active infection -- is the focus of a new two-part research initiative at Penn Medicine.

20 Apr 2020

FDA grants Emergency Use Authorization to Ortho’s COVID-19 total antibody test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it granted Emergency Use Authorization to Ortho Clinical Diagnostics' total antibody assay for COVID-19—the VITROS Immunodiagnostic Products Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total Reagent Pack and Calibrators.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 16 Apr 2020

What’s missing in the coronavirus response

In the age of coronavirus, Americans are being told to stay home and wear masks outside. The federal government has made way for hospitals to treat patients in repurposed hotels and dormitories. Private companies are working to push out new diagnostic tests.

9 Apr 2020

Philadelphia Eagles owner contributes $1 million to Penn Medicine to fight COVID-19 pandemic

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie today announced a $1 million contribution to Penn Medicine to establish the COVID-19 Immunology Defense Fund, laying the foundation for the world's foremost experts to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

8 Apr 2020

Scientists in the UK look to measure COVID-19 in the wider community

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is actively spreading throughout the globe, affecting 184 countries and territories. In the United Kingdom, the country has seen the highest daily numbers of recorded coronavirus deaths – 854 on Monday and 786 on Tuesday, prompting scientists to race toward determining how vast the virus is spreading in the UK.

8 Apr 2020

Clinical factors during pregnancy associated with congenital CMV infection in newborns

A group led by researchers from Kobe University has illuminated clinical factors that are related to the occurrence of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in newborns.

28 Feb 2020

New guidelines recommend no-biopsy approach for childhood celiac disease diagnosis

The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has today issued new guidance to physicians on the diagnosis of celiac disease in children recommending the no-biopsy approach at diagnosis for the majority of children suspected of having the disease.

7 Feb 2020

Institut Pasteur's scientists isolate strains of coronavirus 2019-nCoV detected in France

As well as sequencing the whole genome of coronavirus 2019-nCoV, the Institut Pasteur continued to work on the samples taken from the first confirmed cases. The quality of these initial samples enabled rapid cell-culture isolation of the new virus.

3 Feb 2020

The 2019 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease released

The American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism released the 2019 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease. It is the first criteria developed specifically for this recently recognized disease.

4 Dec 2019

ATS publishes clinical guideline on laboratory diagnosis of fungal infections

The American Thoracic Society has published an official clinical guideline on laboratory diagnosis of fungal infections in pulmonary and critical care medicine in the Society's Aug. 30 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

30 Aug 2019

Raman Spectroscopy as a Universal Analytical Technique for Bodily Fluids

Professor Igor K. Lednev explains why Raman spectroscopy could replace biochemical tests for the analysis of bodily fluids in forensic science.

From Pittcon 16 Jul 2019

Experimental antiviral drug completely protects monkeys from Nipah virus

The experimental antiviral drug remdesivir completely protected four African green monkeys from a lethal dose of Nipah virus, according to a new study in Science Translational Medicine from National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues.

29 May 2019

Study identifies antigens targeted by antibody response to Kawasaki Disease

A new study identifies antigens targeted by the antibody response of children with Kawasaki Disease.

29 Apr 2019

Nobel Laureates lecture about immune checkpoint therapy for cancer treatment

The Nobel Lectures held by the laureates of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine saw Aula Medica at Karolinska Institutet filled to the brink. In addition to 1,000 audience members in the auditorium, people around the world were able to watch the live broadcast when James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo talked about their research, the results of which have led to the ground-breaking immune checkpoint therapy for cancer treatment.

12 Dec 2018