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Biomarker classification and application

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 10:22:51 +0000

The term Biomarker (BM) is an invention that came about by combining two words, biological, plus marker. It describes different physiological and chemical phenomena. It helps indicate a medical illness, exposure, or weakness when applied in biological systems, therapeutic interventions, or pathogenic procedures. There is great progress in the field of biomarkers with its use being diverse. It does not evaluate the feelings and moods of a person.

Classification of a Biomarker

A variety of techniques are applicable in the classification of biomarkers, which focus on its parameters and features. However, when we use Genetics and Molecular Biology, the organisation of biomarkers falls under different categories using three ways to differentiate them. The first method classifies them as: Natural history, drug activity and surrogate. Second methods classifies them as prognostic, predictive, and pharmacodynamic. The third, final method, classifies them as either disease-related or drug-related.

Application of Biomarkers (BM)

The use of biomarkers is widespread. Drug activity BM helps to give important information on the way a drug works and indicates it’s toxicological and therapeutic effects, if any. Natural history BM analyses the progress of a sickness over the years comparing it to available clinical indicators. Surrogate BM help calculate the consequence of using therapeutic intervention. Other biomarkers assist in the identification of diseases and predict threats associated with certain conditions.

Predictive BM helps to identify the appropriate treatment that will be most effective on an individual without risking their health. It helps to prevent giving multiple medications to patients and only focuses on what will work. Prognostic BM helps in predicting effects of an illness when a patient remains untreated. Pharmacodynamic BM sheds light on the biochemical interaction that happens when a patient takes medication.

Biomarkers of exposure assessment

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 10:16:31 +0000

In simple terms, biomarkers are the characteristics or changes in the body of an organism when it exposed to a chemical. These biomarkers can determine if the actual changes occurred, the route cause and the extent to which the changes occurred. Here, we are using biomarkers to assess the exposure in dealing with biomarkers of exposure assessment we use three types of biomarkers namely susceptibility, exposure, and effect.

Biomarkers of Susceptibility

Those are just the indicators of those natural characteristics in the body of an organism that makes it susceptible exposure effects. Susceptibility is essential because it can be used to determine the critical times when exposure is most detrimental. For example, you can use the exhalation strength to determine how susceptible an asthmatic patient can be in case of respiratory effects of exposure to brevetoxin compound.

Biomarkers of Exposure

Biomarkers of exposure are merely the actual chemicals in the body of an organism that can be measured either from inside of the body or taking a sample of the excretion components to determine the extent of organic exposure. For example, you can take the blood sample from a fish to determine the level of lead. Biomarkers of exposure are proven to give the route information as well as its source.

Biomarker of exposure assessment is essential since it can be used to detect and prevent exposure before it creates more damages to the organism. The data taken from the evaluation can also be used for future studies of the chemicals and formulating different strategies to deal with chemical exposures. Biomarker of exposure assessment has also been used to create awareness of the dangers of environmental pollution.

Cell biology

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 09:28:26 +0000

Cell biology refers to the studies of cell function and structure, and it revolves around the concept of a cell being life’s fundamental unit. A focus on cells permits a detailed understanding of organisms and tissues that cells compose. Generally, it focuses on the function and structure of a cell, starting from the unique properties, general properties shared by a majority of cells, and the intricate functions of specialised cells.

Subfields of Cell Biology

There are several subfields in cell biology. One is the study of biochemical mechanisms and cell energy that supports cell metabolism. Another subfield concerns cell genetics and a tight interconnection with proteins that control the release of genetic information from the nucleus to the cell cytoplasm. Many cell biologists concentrate on the intersection of two or more subfields as our ability to do complex cell analysis is forever expanding.

How Cell Biology Evolved

This discipline is considered to have started in the 1830s. Scientists had used microscopes for centuries but were not sure of what they were observing. Scientist Schwann, who looked at animal cells, and Schleiden, who first looked at plant cells, gave the first clear definition of a cell. The definition stated that living creatures are made from one or many cells, and the cell is the functional and structural unit of life.

As microscopes and other techniques improved, scientists managed to see more internal detail in cells. The microscopes used back then magnified specimens just a few hundredfolds. Nowadays, though, high-powered electron microscopes can magnify specimens a million times or more, revealing organelles’ shapes at scales of below a micrometre. These improved techniques have helped in understanding the great complexity of the cells and structures that they form.

Regulatory validation

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 09:17:11 +0000

Biomarker regulatory validation is the method where by biomarkers are verified through tests to determine their consistency, ability and accuracy in telling important things about human health or illness. Biomarkers are indicators of regular biological procedures and pharmacologic or pathogenic responses to healing interventions that are objectively evaluated and measured. According to this description, physiological procedures for blood flow, biological fragments and proteins are good examples of biomarkers.

Proof of Concept

Regulatory validation has been formerly used to ascertain the biomarkers’ definite physical characteristics. This is a phase considered fundamental for doing development stage in-situ validation of the benefits involved. It is expected to cover each aspect of the process. A regulatory validation consist of determination, prediction and the representation of a test. Therefore, a big number of entrants are put to test in order to choose the most appropriate ones.

Experimental Validation and Analytical Performsnce Validation

Experimental Validation allows for the improvement of the selected protocol (most suitable and adopted) for regular usage of the biomarkers. In this level the protocol relevance to numerous methods can be simultaneously confirmed as well as defining the strata depending on the provided results. Here, the test can precisely predict a significant clinical outcome. Time and again, a significant clinical outcome correlates in patient’s improvement.

Analytical performance validation is one of the most essential stages and it aides in identification of particular characteristics of the specific biomarker in advance to developing a repetitive test. A number of factors are considered in this process. They include sensitivity, accuracy, robustness, specificity and reproducibility. Test specificity is the aptitude of giving positive outcomes only when biomarker is present while sensitivity is the aptitude of detecting the presence of the biomarker.

Biomarkers in cancer medicine

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:58:35 +0000

Cancer cases have increased rapidly over the past few years. Unfortunately, doctors have not yet been able to identify what causes cancer. This has resulted in intense and in-depth research by scientists on detecting cancer early and treating it as effectively as possible. Cancer biomarkers are increasingly being considered to have an important role in early disease detection, and in the development of personalised treatments plans for every patient.

What are biomarkers?

Biomarkers are molecules that show normal or abnormal processes occurring in your body, which may be a sign of a condition or disease. Biomarkers are used to differentiate between a patient who is affected with a certain disease from one who is not. Therefore, cancer biomarkers are molecules that indicate the presence of cancer in the body. It should be noted that there are biomarkers for many other diseases other than cancer.

Uses of biomarkers in cancer medicine.

Some uses of biomarkers are: to diagnose early cases of cancer, to predict how invasive a condition is relation to a patient’s ability to do well without treatment and to predict how well a patient will react to certain treatments. Biomarkers are also used to track how well a treatment will work over time, to monitor the recurrence of cancer, and lastly to decide on the best treatment for an individual patient.

Current cancer treatments still use trial and error methods, so the use of cancer biomarkers will definitely be a major breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Several predictive biomarkers are now under evaluation in clinical trials and hopefully, will be successfully implemented. This will result in a complete transformation of cancer patients’ care and increase the chances of detecting cancer at much earlier stages.

History of biomarkers

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:50:20 +0000

‘Biomarker’ is a term that is cropping up more and more frequently. The history of the term dates back to the 1950s, when it was first included in the English language. It began to be widely used during the 1980s. It then took nearly another two decades for The National Institute of Health’s Biomarkers Definitions Working Group to officially recognise the term ‘biomarker’ in 1998.

Definition of biomarker

The term ‘biomarker’ can be defined as a molecule, characteristic or gene by which a process or disease can be identified. More generically speaking, it is a provider of information regarding biological processes or processes of a pathological or pharmacological nature concerning therapeutic interventions. In medicine, it is also specifically a measurable indicator of the presence of a disease or physiological condition, that can help medical professionals plan the best care.

Modern-day cell biology and genetics

Within the context of the world of modern cell biology, a biomarker is considered to be a designated molecule that has the capability to enable a particular kind of cell to be detected and isolated. For instance, prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland that is used to detect prostate cancer. Oct-4 is another example; it is a biomarker for the detection of embryonic stem cells.

In the field of genetics, a biomarker is currently categorised as a type of genetic marker. Hence, it is regarded as a DNA sequence that affects the presence of the onset of a disease. It is also perceived as an element that is able to denote a person’s susceptibility to contracting a particular disease. Thus, current research focuses on the possibility of using biomarkers to detect and monitor diseases.

What to know about biomarkers?

Cody Kirlin IV — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:39:06 +0000

Welcome to our friendly website dedicated to the subject of biomarkers. Have you been hearing the term ‘biomarkers’ in various health discussions lately? Then you, like many others, may be wondering exactly what biomarkers are. Biomarkers are defined as particular molecules in our bodies that are known to show indications of normal functions or abnormalities in the body. They can then reveal if there is any reason for these abnormalities.

Biomarkers as indicators

Biomarkers can be anything from DNA, genes, hormones and proteins. These elements are biomarkers due to the fact that they can present indications about the status of a person’s health. Therefore, biomarkers are distinctive and truly powerful indicators of a biological nature at the cellular, molecular or biochemical level. Biomarkers not only reveal the status of a person’s health, but can also reveal why someone is not well.

What can biomarkers be used for?

Biomarkers are helpful due to the fact that they can be used in order to address a condition, an event or a process, usually because they can be measured in a reliable manner within the context of cells, tissues or fluid. Moreover, medical professionals can utilise biomarkers to note the early stages of changes in the human body that can flag the deteriorating health of an individual.

Therefore, it is useful to note some examples of biomarkers that are used in the world of medicine and health today. Blood cholesterol is a widely known biomarker that indicates if someone is at risk for contracting coronary heart disease. On the other hand, a test for prostate specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by the prostate gland, is an example of a biomarker that can indicate the presence of prostate cancer.