Biomarker News and Research

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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.

Biomarker predicts disease severity in COVID-19 patients

Airway cell analyses showing an activated immune axis could pinpoint the COVID-19 patients who will most benefit from targeted therapies.

17 Sep 2020

Novel mechanism that may confer protection against glaucoma identified

A team of researchers from LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence and the University of Copenhagen provides the first evidence that patients with ocular hypertension may exhibit superior antioxidant protection that promotes resistance to the elevated intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma.

17 Sep 2020

Point-of-care biomarker assay predicts traumatic brain injury in minutes

Intracranial abnormalities on CT scan in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be predicted by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels in the blood.

16 Sep 2020

New biomarker can reliably predict aggressiveness of biliary tract cancer

The cancer called biliary tract cancer (BTC) is not the most widespread form of cancer. In western countries, about 1.6 in 100.000 gets the diagnose every year. It is, however, a very aggressive form of cancer.

15 Sep 2020

LRRK2 enzyme suppresses protein synthesis in Parkinson’s disease

In a recently published study, researchers from the Turku Bioscience Centre at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University in Finland monitored the production of new proteins as they were produced by the cells' protein building machinery, the ribosome.

15 Sep 2020

NIH awards $26.56 million grant to create new Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program

Since 1976, the Framingham Heart Study (FHS)--the longest running multi-generational epidemiological study in the world--has followed participants for incident dementia.

14 Sep 2020

Researchers develop patch of needles connected to a paper sensor for diagnosing prediabetes

Patches seem to be all the rage these days. There are birth control patches, nicotine patches, and transdermal medicinal patches, just to name a few.

14 Sep 2020

NIH provides additional support for large scale study of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers

To meet the pressing need to better understand the prevalence, progression, and clinical impact of Alzheimer's disease among Mexican Americans, the National Institutes of Health has added funding for more biomarker measures, including positron emission tomography imaging, to the ongoing Health and Aging Brain Among Latino Elders Study.

14 Sep 2020

Measuring heart rate changes to detect depression risk

For the first time doctors have shown that measuring changes in 24-hour heart rate can reliably indicate whether or not someone is depressed.

11 Sep 2020

Study sheds light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks

In a study published in JAMA today, Mount Sinai researchers report findings that shed some light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks, who have experienced rates of infection and death that are much greater, in some areas twice and three times more, than their proportion of the population.

11 Sep 2020

Detecting SARS-CoV-2 in 30 seconds with cheap and sensitive nanotubes

In a fascinating new medRxiv preprint paper, researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno demonstrate the power of cobalt-functionalized titanium dioxide nanotubes by selectively detecting the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in less than 30 seconds.

10 Sep 2020

Vapers, smokers, and non-smokers with chronic conditions have higher risks for COVID-19

What do vapers, smokers, and non-smokers with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes have in common? They all are at higher risk for COVID-19.

10 Sep 2020

Investigational drug may reduce protein buildup and neurological decline linked to ALS, FTD

An investigational drug that targets an instigator of the TDP-43 protein, a well-known hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), may reduce the protein's buildup and neurological decline associated with these disorders, suggests a pre-clinical study from researchers at Penn Medicine and Mayo Clinic.

8 Sep 2020

D-dimer - A sensitive novel biomarker of COVID-19 mortality

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* reports the use of D-dimer in predicting the risk of mortality in COVID-19.

7 Sep 2020

Spike-based priming leads to high neutralizing activity in animal models

A new report by researchers at the University of Melbourne and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 reports on the use of a two-protein two-dose vaccine regimen and its immunogenicity in two animal models.

4 Sep 2020

Sleep may serve as a marker of Alzheimer’s disease risk and progression

What would you do if you knew how long you had until Alzheimer's disease set in? Don't despair. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests one defense against this virulent form of dementia -- for which no treatment currently exists -- is deep, restorative sleep, and plenty of it.

3 Sep 2020

Study provides direct link between inflammation and Alzheimer’s plaque development

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by the buildup of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain.

2 Sep 2020

Blood microRNA biomarker may have potential to detect head and neck cancer

Researchers at Flinders University are expanding work on a promising blood test model to help predict or diagnose head and neck cancer, a difficult cancer to pick up early and treat.

1 Sep 2020

Diminished biological arousal before global pandemic may predict PTSD symptoms

People who did not have a large heart rate response to a stress task surprised researchers later -- after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic -- when they showed more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder related to the crisis than others who also did the stress task and COVID-19 stress ratings.

1 Sep 2020

$Sacubitril/valsartan therapy may reduce hospitalization in heart patients with preserved ejection fraction$

Sacubitril/valsartan therapy may reduce hospitalization in heart patients with preserved ejection fraction

Sacubitril/valsartan reduces NT-proBNP, a biomarker predictive of long-term clinical outcomes in heart failure, but does not improve functional capacity compared to individualized background therapy in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

1 Sep 2020