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A biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. Also called molecular marker and signature molecule.

Study may lead to new therapies to improve survival in septic patients

Each year, some 270,000 Americans die from sepsis, in which the release of normally helpful infection-fighting chemicals in the body triggers an unusually extreme immune response - powerful enough to cause life-threatening damage to blood vessels and organs.

15 Oct 2020

Lubricant may actually be a precursor of joint disease, says study

An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) can lead to severe osteoarthritis in both animal and human patients. Now, a new interdisciplinary study on the protein that lubricates our joints says that lubricant may actually be a precursor of joint disease.

14 Oct 2020

Anti-inflammatory drugs may hold the potential to alleviate Parkinson's disease, study suggests

Around 15% of Parkinson's disease cases are related to a known genetic background, out of which mutations in the Parkin and PINK1 genes are among the most frequent ones.

14 Oct 2020

Researchers use single cell sequencing technology to characterize immune system of COVID-19 patients

In this study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology on September 30th, researchers used sequencing to characterize the immune system of patients who survive from COVID-19 infection from symptom onset through recovery.

14 Oct 2020

"Reparative" cardiac fibroblasts play key role in maintaining the mechanics of the heart

The researcher of the Faculty of Science of the UMA Adrián Ruiz-Villalba, who is also member of the Andalusian Center for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology (BIONAND) and the Biomedical Research Institute of Malaga (IBIMA), is the first author of an international study that has identified the heart cells in charge of repairing the damage caused to this organ after infarction.

13 Oct 2020

Neoadjuvant trial of combination immunotherapy has favorable outcomes in bladder cancer patients

Neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, combination treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitors tremelimumab (anti-CTLA-4) and durvalumab (anti-PD-1) was well-tolerated and showed early signs of activity in certain patients with localized bladder cancer who do not have standard treatment options available, according to a Phase I clinical trial conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Oct 2020

Zinc deficiency linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes

A team of researchers from various universities and institutes in Spain recently published a paper on the preprint server medRxiv,* in which they hypothesize that serum zinc levels have a significant influence on COVID-19 progression and thus may be a useful biomarker in predicting severe disease in early stages of COVID-19 infection.

12 Oct 2020

Scientists develop new method for detecting TBI at the point of care

A method for detecting traumatic brain injury at the point of care has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.

12 Oct 2020

UniSA researchers are one step closer to finding new biomarker for osteoarthritis

University of South Australia researchers are a step closer to finding a new biomarker for osteoarthritis, a painful condition which affects more than two million Australians and costs the country an estimated $23 billion a year.

12 Oct 2020

Peer reviewers flag misleading studies on COVID-19

The preprints selected for review in Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RR:C19), an open-access overlay journal published by the MIT Press, cover a wide range of subjects, with peer reviewers finding a study that higher levels of cytokines IL-6 and IL-10 are associated with increased severity of COVID-19 is particularly noteworthy and could be useful in clinical care.

12 Oct 2020

Fetal brain models could predict neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 exposure

Researchers in the United States and Sweden have created personalized models of fetal brain microglia to investigate the effects of maternal infection on the developing brain, including infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

11 Oct 2020

Researchers develop hand-held device to measure cancer biomarker

Researchers at McMaster and Brock universities have created the prototype for a hand-held device to measure a biomarker for cancer, paving the way for home-based cancer monitoring and to improve access to diagnostic testing.

9 Oct 2020

Higher HMBGB1 levels associated with obesity, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease in younger black adults

A "danger molecule" is higher in the blood of younger black adults than whites, females than males and increases with weight and age, researchers report in the first large, longitudinal study associating circulating HMGB1 levels with obesity, inflammation promoters and early indicators of cardiovascular risk in humans.

9 Oct 2020

Intracellular ATP levels in the cortical neurons vary with sleep–wake states, animal study shows

It is assumed that the brain has homeostatic mechanisms to prevent the depletion of cellular energy, required for all cellular activities.

7 Oct 2020

New biomarker may help identify patients at risk for graft-versus-host disease after stem cell transplants

A recent report published in Science Translational Medicine by MUSC Hollings Cancer Center investigator Sophie Paczesny, M.D., Ph.D., sheds light on immune cell biomarkers that may reveal which patients are most at risk for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a life-threatening condition that can arise after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for treatment of liquid cancers such as leukemia.

7 Oct 2020

Oral cancer pain may help predict metastasis

Oral cancer is more likely to spread in patients experiencing high levels of pain, according to a team of researchers at New York University College of Dentistry that found genetic and cellular clues as to why metastatic oral cancers are so painful.

7 Oct 2020

TCR's quantity and clonality are linked to prognosis of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world, with more than one and a half million new cases diagnosed annually.

7 Oct 2020

Study: Leukocyte telomere length may offer key insights into woman's longevity

No one knows for sure how long they will live. A new study, however, suggests that leukocyte telomere length may offer some key insights into a woman's longevity and further demonstrates how maternal age at birth of last child affects telomere length and long-term health.

7 Oct 2020

New imaging technique can replace invasive tissue biopsies in cancer treatment

Imaging techniques could replace the need for invasive tissue biopsies in helping rapidly determine whether cancer treatments are working effectively, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

7 Oct 2020

Low lymphocyte count before COVID-19 heightens death risk

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have conducted a study suggesting that having a low white blood cell count (lymphocytopenia) prior to exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be associated with an increased risk of dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

6 Oct 2020

Biomarker News and Research

Further Reading

Study may lead to new therapies to improve survival in septic patients

Lubricant may actually be a precursor of joint disease, says study

Anti-inflammatory drugs may hold the potential to alleviate Parkinson's disease, study suggests

Researchers use single cell sequencing technology to characterize immune system of COVID-19 patients

"Reparative" cardiac fibroblasts play key role in maintaining the mechanics of the heart

Neoadjuvant trial of combination immunotherapy has favorable outcomes in bladder cancer patients

Zinc deficiency linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes

Scientists develop new method for detecting TBI at the point of care

UniSA researchers are one step closer to finding new biomarker for osteoarthritis

Peer reviewers flag misleading studies on COVID-19

Fetal brain models could predict neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 exposure

Researchers develop hand-held device to measure cancer biomarker

Higher HMBGB1 levels associated with obesity, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease in younger black adults

Intracellular ATP levels in the cortical neurons vary with sleep–wake states, animal study shows

New biomarker may help identify patients at risk for graft-versus-host disease after stem cell transplants

Oral cancer pain may help predict metastasis

TCR's quantity and clonality are linked to prognosis of colorectal cancer

Study: Leukocyte telomere length may offer key insights into woman's longevity

New imaging technique can replace invasive tissue biopsies in cancer treatment

Low lymphocyte count before COVID-19 heightens death risk

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