NEW! CLMA moves to Chicago, names new CEO
The Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) has relocated from Wayne, PA, to Chicago and has selected the Chicago office of SmithBucklin to be the association's full-service management company. C. Anne Pontius, CLMA president, also announced that Mary Beth Hepp, MBA, has been selected as the new CEO of CLMA. Hepp has served as executive director for the Society for Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, and has worked for the American Red Cross in a number of capacities. For more information, visit www.clma.org.

Focus on International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Group B strep (GBS) is one of the most common life-threatening infections and one of the leading causes of blood infection and meningitis in newborns. Up to 15% to 40% of all pregnant women are colonized with GBS. GBS is responsible for affecting about one in every 2,000 babies in the United States. The CDC recommends routine screening for vaginal strep B for all pregnant women. For downloadable materials and resources, visit www.groupbstrepinternational.org/resources_PIP.html.

NEW! Higher vitamin-D levels linked to lower colon-cancer risk
Higher blood levels of vitamin D are associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to a large, 1,248-case study published in the British Medical Journal on Jan. 24, 2010. Participants with the highest levels of blood vitamin-D concentration had a nearly 40% decrease in colorectal-cancer risk compared to those with the lowest levels of vitamin D. Recent publications have suggested maintenance of blood vitamin-D levels at 50 nmol/L or higher for colorectal-cancer prevention. Therefore, this study also compared low and high levels of blood vitamin-D concentration to a mid-level of 50 nmol/L to 75 nmol/L. While levels below the mid-level were associated with increased risk, those above 75 nmol/L were not associated with any additional reduction in colon-cancer risk compared to the mid-level. The study, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and Imperial College of London, is one of the first of its kind to focus on European populations.

NEW! Blood test for schizophrenia may be ready this year
A blood test for diagnosing schizophrenia could be available this year, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society’s news magazine. The disorder, with symptoms that can include hallucinations and delusional thoughts, affects more than 2 million people in the United States and millions more worldwide. The author notes that schizophrenia does not just involve the brain but also abnormal levels of certain proteins that appear in other parts of the body. The article highlights groundbreaking research by a group of scientists in the United Kingdom indicating that 40% of the chemical changes in the brains of schizophrenia patients also occur in other body parts. The U.K. scientists are studying these biomarkers in the skin, immune cells, and blood of patients to provide a real-time picture of the disease. The scientists have identified several schizophrenia biomarkers in the blood and are working with a company that plans to launch a blood test for diagnosing schizophrenia in 2010. Read “A Systemic Look at Schizophrenia” at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8803sci1.html.

Correction
Thanks to one of our astute readers who pointed out an error in MLO’s February hepatitis numbers article (page 22). Somehow a few hyphens disappeared, which changes things drastically. We regret any confusion this may have caused our readers. The correct statement from the CDC: HCV RNA can be detected in blood within 1-3 weeks after exposure. The average time from exposure to antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) seroconversion is 8-9 weeks, and anti-HCV can be detected in >97% of persons by six months after exposure. See www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HCV.

NEW! WEBINAR
March 25, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET. “Mass Spec in the Clinical Lab: Is Now the Time?” This program will cover the fundamentals of mass spectrometry (mass spec) techniques (tandem mass spec, TOF methods, multiplex design); mass spec for vitamin-D determination, testosterone analysis, drug-screening confirmation, and quantifying immunosuppressant concentrations; and the pros and cons of mass spec vs. immunoassay in each of these applications. Register at www.aacc.org/events/meetings/Pages/5787.aspx.

NEW! TELECONFERENCE
March 10, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET. “What's New for 2010 in The Joint Commission’s Lab Program?” Learn about changes in The Joint Commission's Lab program and how they affect accredited labs. Participants will be offered the opportunity to participate in a question and answer period. This conference is offered at no cost; register in advance at www.jointcommission.org/LABmarch10.

HOT CLIPS ON SLIDE MAKERS/SLIDE STAINERS

While slide makers/slide stainers may not be one of the more “glamorous” of laboratory topics, it is one of the essentials. Today, anatomic-pathology groups are investing in digital-pathology systems and digital slides to manage and interpret information, a practical alternative to traditional microscopy. Laboratories are now able to print slides or slide labels with bar codes, reducing legibility errors and increasing throughput. Automated Gram stainers can produce ready-to-use slides, requiring no technical expertise to perform the staining process. Automated slide stainers are manufactured with various attributes that need to be evaluated for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization — more than eight different IHC stainers on the market. Retention, ownership, privacy issues, and disposal of slides are important aspects of slide handling as well. Keeping up with slide technology is a challenge for 21st-century laboratories.

Standard tests over-diagnose peanut allergy
As many as four in five children diagnosed with peanut allergy on standard tests alone may not be truly allergic to peanuts, U.K. researchers found, and a new test could help to cut the numbers wrongly diagnosed. Among 79 8-year-old children who were deemed peanut-sensitive by standard allergy testing, only seven turned out to have true allergies when they underwent more extensive testing. Peanut allergy is typically diagnosed through a skin test and/or a blood test that measures levels of IgE antibodies. But the current findings reported in the January issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggest that a majority of children who test positive for peanut sensitivity on standard tests do not have true allergies. The researchers also say a new type of blood test, called component-resolved diagnostics (CRD), may be more precise than standard IgE tests. CRD involves exposing blood samples to specific, purified peanut proteins and measuring the IgE antibody response. This is different from traditional IgE blood tests, which use crude peanut extracts that contain numerous allergenic and non-allergenic molecules. CRD testing showed that the IgE response to a particular peanut protein, called Ara H 2, may prove useful in separating children with true allergies from those with a peanut sensitivity.

Blood test could reduce use of antibiotics
A French study showed using a blood test that measures levels of the procalcitonin hormone in the body allowed doctors to identify patients who are responding to antibiotics and alert doctors to the earliest stage at which the drugs can be halted. Use of the test decreased from 14 to 11 the average number of days that intensive-care patients were administered the drugs, according to the study. In total 311 patients in intensive care at the Bichat–Claude-Bernard Hospital in Paris were tested for the hormone, and the results used to adjust their antibiotic prescription, while another 319 were treated as normal. There was no difference in mortality rates, recurring infections, or in the number of days that patients required a machine to help their breathing, according to the findings, reported online in The Lancet.

New monkey malaria potentially fatal to humans
Researchers in Malaysia have found that an emerging new form of malaria, thought previously only to infect monkeys is widespread among humans in the region. The researchers conducted a prospective study to identify key laboratory and clinical features of the new form of malarial infection, which is caused by the mosquito parasite Plasmodium knowlesi, previously thought to infect only monkeys, particularly the long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques that live in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. The study showed that the parasite is also widespread among humans in Malaysia, which with further reports from neighboring countries have led experts to recognize P knowlesi as the fifth cause of malaria in humans. Infection by P knowlesi is potentially fatal because the parasites reproduce every 24 hours in the blood, making early diagnosis and treatment essential. There are many species of malaria parasite, four of which commonly cause disease in humans, the most deadly being P falciparum, found mostly in African countries. Another species is P malariae, which usually causes milder symptoms and is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. The researchers, who published this study in the September 2009 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, say P knowlesi malaria can easily be confused with P malariae since parasites look similar by microscopy, but the latter causes a benign form of malaria.

Texas law requires HIV test in last trimester
Texas healthcare providers are now required to test pregnant women for HIV at some point during the last three months of pregnancy under a new law that took effect on Jan. 1, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Prior to the provision, Texas required health providers to test pregnant women for HIV during their first prenatal visit and at the time of delivery. The new provision mandates that women who test positive for HIV be given immediate access to antiretroviral drugs, which can reduce the chances of transmitting the virus to the infant. If a woman goes to the hospital or birthing center for delivery without a record of HIV testing, the new law requires that the medical center test her for the virus and gather results within six hours. According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, one in four women with HIV will transmit the virus to her infant if treatment is not received.

Clusters of IAPPs may contribute to type 2 diabetes
Small clusters (oligomers) of islet amyloid polypeptides (IAPPs) may contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a study published in the February issue of The American Journal of Pathology. A group of scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles explored oligomers of IAPP formed within the beta cells and disrupted the membranes required for insulin secretion. These oligomers were also found in beta cells in human patients with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, IAPP oligomers also disrupted mitochondrial membranes, which can result in beta-cell death. In patients with type 2 diabetes, beta cells, the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin, are progressively lost, and this loss is often associated with the accumulation of misfolded proteins, in particular IAPP. Similar amyloid protein accumulation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases.

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Proteomic blood analysis may help diagnose early-stage ovarian cancer
Non-invasive contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging, combined with proteomic analyses of blood samples may help physicians identify early-stage ovarian cancer and save the lives of many women, according to an article published in the February issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The study of proteomics and new analytical techniques using mass spectrometry has led to the discovery of hundreds of unique proteins that may serve as biomarkers and aid in the detection of early-stage cancer. Researchers at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, have discovered that an inexpensive, non-invasive medical-imaging technique called contrast-enhanced ultrasound may play a complementary role to confirming or refuting newly discovered biomarkers’ ability to accurately detect early-stage ovarian cancer. When proteomics and ultrasound are used in combination, the authors say, diagnosing early-stage disease is more likely.

Antibiotic use in 1960s sparked MRSA
A new genetic method of tracking infection suggests that the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged five decades ago in Europe, just as antibiotics were being widely introduced for the first time. As reported in the January edition of the journal Science, the researchers used DNA-mapping technology to compare the genetic relationship among bugs isolated from individual patients. By identifying letter changes springing up in the bacteria’s genetic code, they were able to track the transmission of MRSA from patient-to-patient within a single hospital and then between continents. Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, Cambridge, U.K., focused on 63 samples of MRSA from a particular lineage of the bacterium called ST239. Samples were collected from hospitals in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Analysis of the samples yielded a family tree showing how the strain had spread around the world and branched into clusters of sub-strains. The European isolates were concentrated around the base of the evolutionary tree, and their calculated mutation rate suggested that this MRSA emerged in the 1960s in Europe, which correlates with the introduction of widespread antibiotic use in Europe in the 1960s.

Younger people should begin cholesterol screening
Cholesterol screening should begin as early as 20 years of age, say doctors at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s program in preventive cardiology, because it is a key indicator of heart-attack risk, and everyone should have their cholesterol checked at least once every five years. The doctors say even young adults and teens can show evidence of atherosclrosis. If early screening reveals low levels of HDL or moderately high levels of LDL, counseling can be provided to help modify lifestyles and be re-evaluated every one or two years. Simple measures that can reduce cholesterol levels include decreasing the amount of saturated fat to less than 7% of total calories consumed each day, increasing the amount of soluble fiber consumed by 5 grams to 10 grams daily, and limiting cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams per day.

—Lydia King, Account Executive,
Seigenthaler Public Relations for Luminex

AUDIOCONFERENCE
Feb. 24, 1:00 p.m. EDT. “The A-to-Z of Vitamin D: Why It's Today's Hottest Lab Test” covers the basics of Vitamin D2 and D3, the different testing methodologies, the most recent clinical studies linking Vitamin D insufficiency to a surprising number of diseases, the politics of Vitamin D in the scientific and payer communities, and more. Register at https://store.darkdaily.com/audioconferences.aspx?id=10.

Genzyme Laboratory recognized CAP 15189
Genzyme Corp.’s genetic testing laboratory located in Phoenix, AZ, has obtained the CAP 15189 Accreditation to the ISO 15189:2007 Standard for laboratories from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The College of American Pathologists rigorously assessed Genzyme’s quality-management systems over the course of a full year before awarding it the CAP 15189 designation. Genzyme expects to pursue CAP 15189 accreditation in all of its genetic testing laboratories located throughout the United States.

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