2023-07-28 17:15:49
As life expectancy increases around the world, age-related diseases such as osteoporosis are having an increasing impact. Although early detection could help doctors intervene as soon as possible (the stage at which treatment could offer the greatest benefit), this type of detection is not yet possible with current osteoporosis diagnostic tests. However, researchers have developed a biosensor that could one day help identify people at higher risk of osteoporosis using less than a drop of blood.
Early intervention is essential to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporosis, a disease characterized by a high risk of bone fractures and which affects many people in the world; In the United States alone, the estimated number rises to about 54 million.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (the most commonly used technique for measuring changes in bone mineral density) is not sensitive enough to detect bone mineral density loss until significant damage has already occurred.
However, several genomic studies have reported genetic variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with increased risk of osteoporosis. Based on this information, the team led by Mayreli Ortiz, from the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, set out to develop a portable electrochemical device that would make it possible to quickly detect five of these SNPs in blood samples obtained by digital puncture, which represents a significant step towards early diagnosis.
The device consists of an array of electrodes to which DNA fragments are attached for each SNP. When lysed whole blood is applied to the matrix, any DNA matching the SNPs is bound to the sequences and amplified with the recombinase polymerase incorporating ferrocene, a label that facilitates electrochemical detection. Using this platform, the researchers detected osteoporosis-associated SNPs in 15 human blood samples and confirmed their results with other methods.
With a new electrochemical device, less than a drop of blood could be all doctors need to quickly and cheaply identify people most at risk for osteoporosis. (Image: adapted from ACS Central Science, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00243)
Since there is no need to purify DNA from blood, the test can be performed quickly (about 15 minutes) and inexpensively (less than half a dollar per SNP). In addition, because the equipment and reagents are portable and easily accessible, the researchers say the device offers great potential for use at point-of-care, rather than being limited to a centralized laboratory. The technology is also versatile and can be easily adapted to detect other SNPs, as the researchers previously demonstrated when identifying drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis from sputum, and risk of cardiomyopathy from blood. Although the device doesn’t diagnose osteoporosis itself, it could help doctors identify people they should monitor more closely.
El estudio se titula “Genetic Platform for the Multiplexed Targeted Electrochemical Detection of Osteoporosis-Associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms using Recombinase Polymerase Solid-Phase Primer Elongation and Ferrocene Modified Nucleoside Triphosphates“. Y se ha publicado en la revista académica ACS Central Science. (Fuente: ACS)
#Quick #cheap #risk #osteoporosis