Applications of molecular diagnostics to oncology have been slow to make their way to the clinical laboratory. While numerous genes and mutation spectra have been found to be involved in tumorigenesis, it is only recently that these findings begin to become useful in a clinical setting. Building on the technical knowledge obtained from molecular infectious disease testing, new instruments and a...

Multifunctional nanoparticles, which incorporate diagnostic (quantum dots, magnetic, metallic, polymeric and silica nanoparticles) and/or therapeutic (magnetic and metallic nanoparticles) properties, are in the process of development. They have been used in vivo to protect the drug entity in the systemic circulation, restrict access of the drug to the chosen sites and to deliver the drug at a c...

Molecular diagnostics now provides most laboratory tests in infectious disease and genetics, and an increasing number in oncology. Massively parallel methods allow sequencing of entire genomes, and sequence databases within and between species provide the information necessary to develop sensitive and specific diagnostic assays. Indeed, most microorganisms today are classified on the basis of s...

OBJECTIVE To examine whether results of a polymerase chain reaction-based respiratory viral panel (RVP) are associated with changes in antibiotic use or differential clinical outcomes among children hospitalized with pneumonia. METHODS We retrospectively identified otherwise healthy children hospitalized over a 3-year period at a single institution with community-acquired pneumonia who had an...

Beyond the WHO classification of meningioma: using molecular diagnostics to guide management. Advancements in profiling meningioma are providing greater accuracy prognostication tumours.

E ver since the first autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) gene was localized to a chromosomal interval (PKD1: 16p13.3) in 1985, brave souls have been performing molecular-based diagnostics (1). The enthusiasm was tempered by the discovery of a second gene (PKD2: 4q21) and suggestions of a third, with the realization that reliable linkage-based diagnostics required families larg...

Historically, the diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) (e.g., Strongyloides stercoralis, Trichuris trichiura, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus, and Ascaris lumbricoides) has relied on often-insensitive microscopy techniques. Over the past several years, there has been an effort to use molecular diagnostics, particularly quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), to detect...

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a significant and costly challenge to the orthopedic community. The lack of a gold standard for diagnosis remains the biggest obstacle in the detection and subsequent treatment of PJI. Molecular markers in the serum and joint fluid aspirate hold immense promise to enhance the development of a firm diagnostic criterion. The primary goal is one marker with ...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure that allows embryos to be tested for genetic disorders before they enter the uterus and before pregnancy has begun. Embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization undergo a biopsy procedure in which one or two cells are removed and tested for a specific disorder. If the cell is unaffected, the embryo from which it was taken is judged to be free...