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Diabetes Cases in Children Set to Double
Cases of type 1 diabetes in children under five look set to double by 2020 according to a Queen’s University academic. Dr Chris Patterson, from the Epidemiology Research Group at the Centre for Public Health at Queen's, jointly led the research published in the on-line version of the medical journal The Lancet today.
By studying data involving nearly 30,000 children across Europe the group also found that, if present trends continue, diagnoses of older children with the condition will also increase substantially.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by insulin deficiency and is treated with insulin injections, whereas type 2 diabetes is caused by reduced sensitivity to insulin along with some insulin deficiency and is more commonly controlled by diet or tablets. In the general population, type 1 diabetes represents only a small proportion of total diabetes cases but among children, there are many more cases of type 1 diabetes than type 2 in European countries.
Although obesity is known to be a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, it’s of little relevance to type 1. As no major environmental risk factors have been identified for type 1 diabetes there is no clear medical advice on how to prevent it.
To predict the future burden to health services of type 1 diabetes, the authors analysed diabetes data from 29,311 cases across 17 European countries, recorded between 1989 and 2003.
The researchers found that the overall increase in incidence of type 1 diabetes was 3.9% per year, while the annual increase in the birth to four years age group was 5.4%, with a 4.3% rise in the five to nine years age group, and a 2.9% rise in 10 to14 year-olds.
Dr Patterson explained: “A younger age of onset of type 1 diabetes is concerning because it is usually associated with more acute symptoms including potentially life- threatening
ketoacidosis.Some of the most serious complications of diabetes which include blindness, heart disease renal disease, are likely to occur in younger ages in patients.”
There were estimated to have been around 15,000 new cases in children under 15 in Europe in 2005. This total is predicted to increase to 24,400 new cases in 2020, with a doubling in the number of cases in children aged under five, from under 10,000 in 2005 to just over 20,000 in 2020.
If present trends continue, the total number of new and existing cases in European children under 15 years is predicted to rise from 94,000 in 2005 to 160,000 in 2020 - a 70% increase.
Circle no. 552
Hungarian Research Supports Safer Pesticide Application
Given the current high level of concern about the environmental and health risks associated with agrochemical spray use, work at the College of Kecskemét in Hungary is providing important information to help ensure the correct and controlled delivery of pesticides and other compounds. Researchers are examining how the output of spray nozzles changes during use. Their aim is to determine whether or not the nozzles continue delivering droplets in the size ranges that give the greatest efficacy with the least adverse effect. The Spraytec droplet size analyser from Malvern Instruments is integral to this work. This robust system is designed to provide rapid, high resolution measurements of wide spray plumes, enabling measurement of droplet size distributions in real-time during spraying.
Professor István Sztachó-Pekáry of the Machinery Department at the College of Kecskemét, said: “It is normal for farmers to use spray nozzles a number of times before replacing them. By monitoring output over time, we are developing a greater understanding of the impact of nozzle wear, enabling us to balance nozzle performance with the economics of renewal. This helps avoid the cost of premature replacement whilst also encouraging good practice in ensuring that droplet size specifications are met.”
Droplet size is a critical parameter, since it plays a significant role in predicting spray drift, run-off and uptake by different target species. In using the highly robust Spraytec system, the team in Hungary has the ability to measure sprays with droplets ranging from 0.1 to 2000 microns, at data acquisition rates of up to 10 kHz. This provides rapid, in-situ data acquisition in real time during spraying. “The Spraytec provides us with significant insight into spray behaviour,” said Professor Sztachó-Pekáry. “The data it generates support both the theoretical achievements on spray atomization and laboratory tests on droplet size distributions across the fan patterns of new and worn nozzle tips.”
The efficient application of agrochemical sprays to minimise any adverse impact on the environment and on human and animal health is a major global concern, as reflected in the European Parliament’s ruling on pesticide safety in January 2009. Being able to closely monitor the effectiveness of application systems in real time, and in particular to gauge more closely the exact timing for nozzle replacement, is likely to encourage equipment maintenance practices that result in correct application.
Circle no. 553
Immunogenicity Assay Kit for Rapid Detection of Anti-Drug Antibodies
ForteBio®
, Inc announced that it has launched the new Dip and Read Immunogenicity Assay Kit for rapid detection of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) for use on the company’s Octet® platform. The new assay kit provides life science researchers with new levels of throughput, speed and flexibility for measuring immune response to a therapeutic drug, an integral part of drug development.
“Traditional methods for anti-drug antibody detection can be time-consuming, insensitive and labour-intensive, and can result in low throughput,” said Christopher Silva, ForteBio’s Vice President of Marketing. “ForteBio’s new Dip and Read Immunogenicity Assay Kit overcomes these limitations, providing the needed sensitivity, increased drug tolerance and flexibility to detect both high- and low-affinity ADA. It accomplishes this by leveraging the Octet platform’s real-time, label-free detection technology to essentially automate the relevant processing steps and eliminate any plate-washing components.”
The Dip and Read Immunogenicity Assay Kit’s protocols work across many drug types, including antibodies, proteins and peptides. The assay kit provides biosensors and basic reagents to run two different assay configurations - an enzyme-linked bridging assay and a direct binding assay - for use with human, primate and other animal serum and plasma samples.
ForteBio’s Octet system is based on the company’s proprietary BioLayer Interferometry (BLI) technology, in which optical biosensors measure multiple interactions in parallel, without the use of detection reagents. The platform includes the Octet QK384 system, which enables 384-well detection, 16-channel simultaneous readout with two plate positions, biosensor regeneration and re-racking, and automation capabilities for increased cost-efficiencies and throughput, as well as faster time to results. The Octet instrumentation software has optional FDA 21 CFR part 11 compliance tools required by GLP laboratories.
Circle no. 554 Biobanking and Biospecimen Management Software Solution
Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that its Nautilus LIMS (laboratory information management system) now delivers purpose-built functionality to meet the specific and unique needs of the biobanking industry. Thermo Scientific Nautilus LIMS for Biobanking and BioSpecimen Management will help manage biospecimen locations, online requests, chain-of-custody and patient demographics. Biospecimens serve as the basis for the novel research and development needed for the discovery of breakthrough drugs and medical treatments. The increased focus on translational medicine and epidemiology has led to a surge in the number of samples generated for research and analysis and to the development of extensive biobanks and repositories that provide the samples and libraries necessary for the high-throughput laboratories engaged in drug discovery research and development. The function of biobanks is quite diverse and can range from the storage of frozen cell aliquots intended for primary pharmaceutical screening and tissue biopsies for disease research, to patient DNA samples used by government agencies and large, multi-sample population libraries for translational studies.
Thermo Scientific Nautilus LIMS for Biobanks can help accelerate sample analysis by providing optimised logistical and operational support to researchers by ensuring that
samples are available when and where they are needed. Nautilus LIMS also delivers well-organised, accurate and timely data, providing both the scientific and business users with meaningful information essential for discovery and the daily decision-making process of the business of the biobank.
Thermo Scientific Nautilus LIMS is specifically designed to address the unique challenges of specimen collection and banking for pharmaceutical discovery and clinical operations, academic and biosciences research centers, medical institutions and contract research organisations. Nautilus LIMS for Biobanks is a preconfigured version of Nautilus that not only facilitates data capture and specification management, but also facilitates chain-of-custody and handling assurance needs that improve operational efficiencies. Nautilus’s web interface provides centralised global access in a secure environment. In addition, Nautilus’s built-in patented graphical workflow utility tool allows an organisation to easily extend its capabilities and tailor the solution to its laboratory’s unique data capture, result management, storage and specimen handling requirements.
Circle no. 555
Spotlight
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