Regular blood testing is a crucial element in making sure you are healthy. Consecutive blood tests allow you to keep track of how your body changes over time while helping you make informed decisions regarding your health.
WHAT DO blood tests SHOW?
Blood tests are designed to help your doctor see how your organs work. Some organ functions that can be detected with blood testing include your kidneys, liver, and thyroid.
Your doctor will also use blood tests for finding disease markers and signs of other health conditions, such as HIV, diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, and anemia. Even if you don't have heart disease, blood tests can tell you if you are at risk of developing this condition.
Other blood tests are used to determine if the medications you take work properly and to see how well your blood clots. Keep reading to learn more about the most important blood tests. You can also find out more about these when you contact NovoPath.
At the European Conference of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, data on a test that may detect HIV,
hepatitis B, and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood are being presented.
Hepatitis B or C claim the lives of over a million people each year. Every year, 1.5 million individuals contract HIV, and 650,000 people pass away from HIV-related
causes.
The World Health Organisation has made the elimination of all three viruses by 2030 one of its global health strategies but new tests are necessary if case numbers
are to be reduced.
The most common test for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV involves taking a blood sample from a vein using a needle. While this method works extremely well, there
is a potentially large reservoir of the three conditions in places where this method is not suitable.
This could be prisons, drug rehabilitation centres and homeless shelters, where the taking of venous blood samples isn't always suitable or countries in which the
shipping and refrigerated storage of blood samples can be challenging.
Alternatives include dried blood spot tests, in which a single spot of blood is tested for nucleic acid from the three viruses.
A change in medication can benefit patients on blood pressure-lowering therapies significantly more than increasing the dose of their current medication.
A recent study from Uppsala University that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) demonstrates this.
In this study, four different blood pressure-lowering medications were tested out on 280 individuals over the course of a year.
"The effect of a change of medication can be twice as great as the effect of doubling the dose of the patient's current medication. It was clear in our study that
certain patients achieved lower blood pressure from one drug than from another. This effect is large enough to be clinically relevant," said Johan Sundstrom,
cardiologist and Professor of Epidemiology at Uppsala University, who is the first author of the study.
Most Swedes develop high blood pressure sooner or later; more than two million Swedes have high blood pressure at the present time.
Only a fifth of them have managed to bring their blood pressure under control through drug therapy, and some studies suggest that only half of them take their blood
pressure medication as intended.
Could this be because the efficacy and side-effects of the drugs differ from individual to individual?
A £5m project has been launched to introduce new blood tests in the National Health Service (NHS) that can diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
The blood tests could be available on the NHS within five years and they can diagnose the disease earlier and more accurately than current methods, experts have said.
Alzheimer's Research UK, the Alzheimer's Society and the National Institute of Health and Care Research have jointly launched the project.
Susan Kohlhaas, Executive Director of Research and Partnerships at Alzheimer's Research UK, said that the NHS doesn't possess the "required levels of diagnostic
infrastructure" to cope with the "growing demand" for dementia diagnosis.
"Low-cost tools like blood tests that are non-invasive and simpler to administer than current gold standard methods are the answer to this," she added.
The National Health Service (NHS) on Monday launched a new national campaign to find the 'missing millions' who could be living with undiagnosed high
blood pressure, often described as a 'silent killer'.
People are being warned that the condition rarely has any symptoms and it can lead to fatal heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia, if
left untreated.
According to the NHS, high blood pressure affects an estimated 32 per cent of adults and approximately three in 10 of these remain undiagnosed, equating to
4.2 million people in England.
The NHS has expanded blood pressure checks in community pharmacies to include 2.5 million more tests as part of the Pharmacy First programme.
With the 'Get Your Blood Pressure Checked' campaign, the health service is encouraging those aged 40 years and over to get a free blood pressure test at a
participating pharmacy, for which they don't need to be booked in advance.
Health Minister Andrea Leadsom expressed confidence that this new drive will help to prevent the potentially "fatal consequences" of untreated high blood
pressure. She urged people to go to their local pharmacy to get their blood pressure checked, stating that it could be a "lifesaving trip."
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has become the first healthcare system in the world to provide a new blood group genotyping test for people with
rare inherited blood disorders.
From Monday (22 January), thousands of patients suffering from sickle cell disorder and thalassaemia will get access to the world-first 'blood matching'
genetic test, which will help reduce their risk of transfusion side effects while offering more personalised care.
In England, it is estimated that around 17,000 people are living with sickle cell disorder, with 250 new cases reported each year, and there are about 800
thalassaemia patients, with less than 50 new cases a year.
Health Minister Andrea Leadsom said: "Thousands of people living with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia will be eligible for this new world-first blood
test which is set to transform their care.
Superdrug has unveiled its new fertility test service to help women to easily access information about their own fertility and enables them to take greater control of their reproductive health.
The service comprises a Superdrug online doctor consultation and personalised fertility test recommendations to help women make more informed decisions about the options available to them.
Superdrug's fertility test initial consultation requires customers to fill out a quick online questionnaire. This is then reviewed by Superdrug's team of online doctors, who will work with the patients to identify which fertility tests are best suited to the individual. The new service also sees Superdrug introduce three new fertility blood tests to its portfolio, ensuring greater choice and accessibility.
Dr Sara Kayat, Superdrug's medical ambassador comments, "For women that have been trying to get pregnant and not succeeding, or for those who are just curious about their fertility, easy access to blood tests may help provide answers and signpost them in the right direction."
Scotland has become the world's first country to introduce a simple blood test for Type 1 diabetes patients, enabling them to stop taking insulin by improving the accuracy of diagnosis.
The routine C-peptide test, introduced today (November 1), will allow doctors to know how much insulin someone with diabetes is making themselves.
The roll-out of test follows a two-year pilot study in NHS Lothian led by diabetes and endocrinology consultant Professor Mark Strachan.
Strachan said: "C-peptide helps diabetes specialists make a more accurate diagnosis of the cause of diabetes, and that means we can get people on the most appropriate treatment. In some instances, C-peptide testing allowed people to stop very long-standing insulin therapy; this can be life-transforming."
Early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's disease require the use of dependable and cost-effective screening technologies.
Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet have revealed that the level of tau, a protein that plays a vital role in the development of severe dementia, is
associated with a kind of sugar molecule in the blood.
The study, which is published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, can pave the way for a simple screening procedure able to predict onset ten years in advance.
"The role of glycans, structures made up of sugar molecules, is a relatively unexplored field in dementia research," says the study's first author Robin Zhou,
medical student and affiliated researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Karolinska Institutet.
"We demonstrate in our study that blood levels of glycans are altered early during the development of the disease. This could mean that we'll be able to predict
the risk of Alzheimer's disease with only a blood test and a memory test."
In Alzheimer's disease, the neurons of the brain die, which is thought to be a result of the abnormal accumulation of the proteins amyloid beta and tau. Clinical
trials for Alzheimer's drugs show that treatment should commence early in the pathological process, before too many neurons have died, to reverse the process before
it is too late.
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American global healthcare company, Viatris, has launched a new rapid self-test for qualitative detection of antibodies developed after Covid-19 vaccinations.
The firm is going to market the Covid-19 Neutralising IgG Serological self-test, manufactured by PRIMA Lab SA, in the UK market, which would check presence of
neutralising antibodies after vaccination.
The presence of antibodies indicates that a person has had an immune response to the Covid-19 vaccine, and not that protective immunity has been acquired. The self-test that can be performed easily at home with a small blood sample, delivers results in just 10 minutes and has a recommended retail price of sub £20.
After two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, the self-test has shown a seroconversion rate of 98.3 per cent for the Pfizer vaccine, 98.5 per cent for the AstraZeneca vaccine and 95.2 per cent for the Moderna vaccine.
It recommended that the test be performed at least 14 days after completing the vaccination cycle.
If you are a pregnant mother waiting to meet your precious bundle, we congratulate you! Pregnancy is an exciting time and also a time for learning, as many moms-to-be in Katy find out, whether or not they have had kids before. Each pregnancy is different, just as every child is different, and you can never be sure exactly what to expect. However, there are some basic things you can do to ensure that your baby is healthy and to ease the delivery process.What is prenatal care?This is an umbrella term for all the services provided to you by an obstetrician in addition to your care routine at home before the baby is born. The first thing to do when you think you are pregnant is to confirm it through an at-home pregnancy test or a blood test (hCG test). Once your pregnancy is confirmed, you will need to call or visit your doctor so that you can get the essential vitamins. Folic acid, for example, has been proven to consistently reduce neural tube defects in newborns when the mother has taken sufficient amounts of it. It is now advised that all women hoping to get pregnant should start on folic acid early (dosage to be prescribed by your family doctor) and not wait until they are pregnant to take it. Prenatal vitamins are also recommended as a part of prenatal care by obstetricians in Katy around the 8th week of pregnancy.How often should you visit your obstetrician?In the first trimester you will only need to visit every four weeks. The doctor will check your weight and measure the stomach to get an idea of the baby's growth inside. The doctor will also check the heartbeat of the baby. During the third trimester, however, you may need to visit every two weeks and then once a week. At least one ultrasound test will be performed along with a few possible blood tests.For more information visit: Prenatal careImage Source: Google.com
We offer pregnancy tests at our Clinic by a choice of blood test and urine test.
All pregnancy tests measure the amount of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), the pregnancy hormone, in your body.
NHS England is set to roll out a new test this week that will help doctors to spot a rare form of eye cancer in babies in the womb.
The NHS test developed at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, identifies the risk of developing retinoblastoma in babies that can be monitored
and treated sooner - increasing the chance of saving their eyesight and potentially their lives.
The new non-invasive test can detect changes in the genes in DNA and is likely to identify around 50 infants with retinoblastoma each year, in the latest example
of the NHS harnessing the power of genomics to diagnose and treat patients faster and more effectively.
Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (NIPD) also means parents can be informed early in pregnancy if their child is at risk.
"The blood sample test is taken from the mother before birth and tested and analysed for mutations, which can determine with almost 100 per cent accuracy if the baby will develop retinoblastoma," the NHS said.
The A1C test is a blood test that shows your blood sugar levels over the past two to three months and this helps in evaluating whether you are suffering from diabetes.
On June 3, Synnovis, a pathology laboratory serving several NHS organisations in South East London, was targeted by a ransomware attack.
This cyber incident has disrupted vital blood testing services, crucial for a range of medical treatments, and raised significant concerns over data security.
NHS England confirmed that a cybercriminal group, Qilin, published data online, claiming it was stolen from Synnovis.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are currently working to authenticate the data and understand its contents.
A helpline has been established to address patient concerns, and NHS England urges patients to attend their appointments unless otherwise directed.
The attack has rendered some of the NHS's blood testing systems inoperable, causing substantial disruption to medical services in South East London.