American Association for Clinical Chemistry
Improving healthcare through laboratory medicine
NACB Blog
MicroRNAs as potential biomarkers: Is the future here?

1/22/2013 2:01 PM | Comments (0) Recommend (249)

By Verena Gounden, MBChB, FCP, MMed and Zhen Zhao, PhD, DABCC
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​MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short strands of RNA that act as post-transcriptional regulators. Research in various disease processes from cancer to cardiovascular disease has found that miRNAs play a role in disease pathogenesis and have potential as biomarkers and therapeutic agents. However, as with a...(Read More)
Posted at 1/22/2013 2:01 PM | Tags: CVD/Markers/Risk Factors
Risk Management in the Clinical Laboratory

11/13/2012 1:34 PM | Comments (0) Recommend (417)

By James H. Nichols, PhD, DABCC, FACB
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The healthcare in the United States is a lot like dining out. Sometimes you can experience a restaurant with great service and have a fantastic meal, but other times, the food is cold or not what you ordered. In healthcare, patients can have a great experience, and other times errors occur.  Incorr...(Read More)
Posted at 11/13/2012 1:34 PM | Tags: CVD/Markers/Risk Factors
The International Normalized Ratio:  How well do we understand this measurement?

9/4/2012 10:04 AM | Comments (0) Recommend (489)

By Niel Harris, MD
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The oral anticoagulant warfarin (also called coumadin) is a vitamin K antagonist that is widely used to prevent venous thrombosis. Warfarin inhibits the post-translational carboxylation of coagulation factors II, VII, IX and X. This diminishes the ability of these factors to interact with phospholi...(Read More)
Posted at 9/4/2012 10:04 AM | Tags: CVD/Markers/Risk Factors
Lipoproteomics: Will Proteins Be More Important Than Cholesterol?

5/1/2012 9:08 AM | Comments (2) Recommend (490)

By Andrew Hoofnagle, MD, PhD
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​Elevated plasma concentrations of LDL cholesterol lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and elevated plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol represent a negative risk factor for cardiovascular disease. But why? Isn’t cholesterol just cholesterol? Our lipoproteins vary in size, structu...(Read More)
Posted at 5/1/2012 9:08 AM | Tags: CVD/Markers/Risk Factors
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