Tag Archives: blood test

It’s time for the Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to step down

That will be a respectful decision. Believe me.

I was always wondering about Elizabeth Holmes, and admiration, of course, I had for all what she achieved through her work: a blood-testing technology which is fast and comfortable than the tradional long-needle, founding of Theranos, then a rank in Forbes list. All within 30. That’s marvellous. A big woooow. Itelligent, hard- working and ambitious. And of course, very gifted and lucky. That’s how all my thoughts swirled around the founder of Theranos. (more…)

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Guidelines for Prostate Screening Widely Ignored, Study Finds

2008 recommendations from federal task force had no impact

New research confirms that the controversial decision by Warren Buffett – the 81-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway – to undergo a blood test screening for prostate cancer despite his age is hardly unusual. Despite recommendations in 2008 from the United States Preventive Services Task Force against testing for prostate cancer in men aged 75 years or older, almost half of men in that age group continue to get screening tests.

In 2005, before the recommendations were released, 43 percent of men age 75 and above elected to take the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. In August 2008, the Task Force stated it “recommends against the service,” arguing “there is moderate or high certainty the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits.” (more…)

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Heart Failure Patients with Diabetes May Benefit From Higher Glucose Levels

Lowering glucose levels for people with diabetes is normally critical to improving health outcomes. But for diabetes patients with heart failure, that might not always be the case, say UCLA researchers.

A new study found that for advanced heart failure patients with diabetes, having higher blood glucose levels may actually help improve survival rates. (more…)

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Can Inflammation Predict Heart Disease and Stroke?

Can Inflammation Predict Heart Disease and Stroke?

Groundbreaking research may be able to help predict how likely it is that a person will have heart disease or a stroke in the future. Studies have linked inflammation to the risk of cardiovascular disease because of the association between the release of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and heart disease.

What is C-Reactive Protein (CRP)?

The National Institute of Health explains that CRP is a protein that is released when there is inflammation present in the body. The liver produces the protein and a blood test can be done to find out how much CRP is present in a person’s body.

What is inflammation?

John W. Kimball maintains a website describing in depth how inflammation develops in the body. Inflammation develops as a result of injury to the body. It can often be recognized by swelling and redness at the site of inflammation and may be accompanied by pain. Although inflammation often occurs on the surface of the skin, it can also occur internally. (more…)

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MU Veterinarians Find Infections Faster By Monitoring Blood Compound

*Blood test for dogs could lead to similar human test; severe infections kill more than half of patients*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a University of Missouri veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a third of the current diagnosis time. The resulting test could be used eventually for humans.

“Infections can be difficult to diagnose, and many veterinarians have to send samples to a lab and wait three days or more as the lab attempts to grow a culture,” said Amy DeClue, assistant professor of veterinary internal medicine in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. “Meanwhile, the infection continues to spread each day that veterinarians wait on lab results, which is detrimental to the patient. In extreme infections, called sepsis, more than half of patients die. My group has been evaluating different blood biomarkers that could give a quick and accurate indication of infection, and we believe we’ve found a biomarker that will only require a simple blood test.” (more…)

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