Biomarkers Predict Heart Deaths

Blogging previously about biomarker in, Biomarkers to Open the Door to Personalized Medicine and Represents a Seismic Shift for the Pharma Industry. Here are two interesting study on biomarkers. First one, Dr. Johan Arnlov, a researcher at Uppsala University, and lead author of a report in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. A bundle of four offbeat biomarkers accurately predicted the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in a study of older Swedish men, researchers report. It is just a preliminary finding in a long process that might one day lead to widespread medical use of these biomarkers in addition to well-established risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.

And second one, Potential cardiovascular disease markers – CliPro™ based analysis:

Introduction

Quantitative analysis of proteins in body fluids for disease diagnosis has attained significant clinical relevance as it could reflect the pathophysiological state of the organism. Despite the wide concentration ranges and limitations of certain analytical techniques, the utility of the plasma proteome as a principle diagnostic material for biomarker analysis is on the rise (Anderson et al., 2002; Anderson et al., 2004; Adkins et al., 2002). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death, though preventable. Understanding of pathophysiological components and their role in diagnosis and timely prediction could become vital in this largely preventable disease. Analyzing the plasma proteome using CliPro™ has helped us to identify and validate potential biomarker-CVD disease association.

Using literature-mining efforts, we have systematically compiled a list of plasma proteins that contains concentration values reflecting alterations between normal versus various disease states. Using CliPro™, we found significant differences in the levels of some of the plasma proteins, influenced by genetics, sex, age, physiological state and various factors. Of the many protein candidates, we have prioritized a list of around 180 clinically significant plasma proteins of different types with their concentration ranges reflecting a clear-cut CVD association. By analyzing the concentration values of the plasma proteins in disease versus normal conditions, we find that more than 50% of the proteins clearly serve as biomarkers, which will enable to measure the presence/ progress of a disease or the effect of therapeutic intervention in the treatment of a disease.

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