The following is a review of diagnostics related medical research worldwide

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Wayne State researcher, Alan P. Hudson, Ph.D., associate professor of immunology and microbiology has shown data that links Chlamydia pneumoniae to brain samples from late-onset Alzheimer's patients. The study showed that, in 17 of 19 patients, brain areas with typical Alzheimer's disease showed the presence of C. pneumoniae. The bacterium, however, was not present in unaffected brain regions of the same patients. This finding potentially could lead to new diagnostic and treatment regimens in the battle against Alzheimer's disease. C. pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen that is present in acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, sinusitis, and bronchitis, and studies have associated it with more severe and chronic pulmonary conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Confirming similar research in men, data from the Women's Health Study suggest that the serum level of C-reactive protein in healthy post menopausal women is an independent risk factor for subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD), even among women who are otherwise at low risk, including MI, stroke, angioplasty, bypass surgery or death from CVD. The researchers followed 122 participants for 3 years and analyzed blood samples obtained at the beginning of the study and found that, compared with 244 control subjects who did not experience a cardiovascular event during the same follow-up period, the 122 case subjects had higher median levels of C-reactive protein. The assay used was an ultrasensitive tests for C-reactive protein.
Source: Circulation 1998;98:731-733.

Research headed by Yan Xu, Ph.D., the Cleveland Clinic Foundation showed that elevated plasma levels of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a normal constituent of blood, may be a marker of gynecological malignancies, including early-stage ovarian cancer. Xu's team reports that plasma LPA levels were higher than 1.3 micromoles per liter in 98% of 48 patients with ovarian cancer, including 90% of 10 patients with stage I disease. Levels of CA125 were elevated in only 57% of the patients with ovarian cancer who had elevated LPA levels. The comparison with CA125 values suggests that plasma LPA may represent a more sensitive marker for ovarian cancer, he concluded. In addition, some patients with other gynecological cancers had elevated plasma LPA levels, including 87% of 15 patients with peritoneal cancer, 93% of 15 patients with endometrial cancer and 100% of 6 patients with cervical cancer.
Source: JAMA, Aug 26, 1998;280:719-723, 739.

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