We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Blood Test Advances Diagnosis Of HELLP Syndrome

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Jun 2016
A laboratory blood test for the diagnosis of a rare genetic red blood cell disorder also shows promise in identifying HELLP syndrome, a life-threatening high blood pressure condition affecting 1% of all pregnant women.

HELLP is an acronym for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets and is a severe variant of pre-eclampsia whose pathogenesis remains unclear. More...
Recent evidence and clinical similarities suggest a link to atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, a disease of excessive activation of the alternative complement.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) used the modified Ham test to study serum samples from 14 women with classic or atypical HELLP syndrome, seven women with severe preeclampsia, 11 women with normal pregnancies, and eight healthy non-pregnant women. All pregnant women were at least 23 weeks pregnant.

Serum Complement C5b-9 Membrane Attack Complex levels were determined using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Quidel, San Diego, CA, USA). The modified Ham test reflects complement activation as a percentage of complement-mediated cell-killing and is thereby a functional assay. The modified Ham test was measured in an iMark Microplate Absorbance Reader (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) at 490 nm with a reference wavelength at 595 nm.

The investigators found increased complement activation, as measured by the modified Ham test, in women with classic or atypical HELLP, compared to those with normal pregnancies or those not pregnant. They observed average cell killing of 34.3% in those with classic HELLP, and 26% in atypical HELLP compared to an average 5% in those with normal pregnancies and 3.3% in those who were not pregnant. They also found that mixing serum from women with classic or atypical HELLP together with a monoclonal antibody that blocks complement, resulted in a significant decrease in the killing of cells in the modified Ham test, from about a 34% kill rate down to a 5% kill rate, the amount seen in healthy individuals.

Arthur J. Vaught, MD, a maternal fetal medicine fellow and lead author of the study said, “The clinical implications from an obstetric point of view are potentially huge. If this works, we can reduce pre-term deliveries, stays in the neonatal intensive care unit and other complications for mothers and their babies. This assay may aid in the diagnosis of HELLP syndrome and could confirm that its pathophysiology is related to that of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.” The study was published in the May 2016 issue of the journal Experimental Hematology.

Related Links:
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Quidel
Bio-Rad

New
Gold Member
Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile pHOx
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Silver Member
Quality Control Material
Multichem ID-B
New
Hand-Held Immunofluorescence Analyzer
WS-Si1500
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.