A study that identifies new heart attack risk factors and supports the use of a blood test for detection in patients, will be published in summary form in the AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) Journal.
“There is a great need to correctly identify individuals with active, yet undetected subclinical disease who are at risk of experiencing a coronary event, and for whom early intervention can help,” says Douglas Harrington, M.D., CEO of GD Biosciences, a pioneer in the field of diagnostic medicine, and co-author of the study. “Most heart attacks occur at the site of a non-obstructive lesion and many patients do not have symptoms or abnormal lipids.”
GD Biosciences developed the new blood test to help identify patients at risk of suffering a heart attack.
Harrington, also a clinical professor at USC Keck School of Medicine, co-authored “Inflammatory Biomarkers & Diabetes as Predictors of CHD in MESA” with Americo Simonini, M.D., attending cardiologist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles which will be published in the AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) Journal.
Simonini says exercise testing or cardiac imaging only diagnose higher-grade coronary stenosis but fails to identify many at-risk patients who are not showing any symptoms.
“Obstructive coronary plaque is most often NOT the site of the cardiovascular event. This new test addresses this significant unmet clinical need,” says Simonini.
The article was presented on Nov. 20, 2014 at the 12th Annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease to a distinguished faculty of global scientists, researchers, and practicing clinicians.
The research finds that the use of nine biomarkers and established clinical risk factors (including diabetic status) correlated with the underlying formation of unstable cardiac lesions and significantly improved identification of at-risk patients frequently missed by current methods.
Results demonstrated that the novel protein-biomarker and clinical risk factor algorithm identified patients who went on to experience an acute coronary event. Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) is the main cause of coronary artery disease mortality. Insulin resistance and diabetes are significant factors increasing risk of ACS.
About Douglas Harrington, MD
Dr. Douglas Harrington has over 30 years of experience in the research, development, commercialization, and expansion of innovative healthcare technology and services. As former President and Lab Director of Nichols Institute, Dr. Harrington expanded their molecular genetics, infectious disease, immunology, cytogenetic, and anatomic pathology offerings.
Dr. Harrington holds a number of patents including automated image analysis of residual cancer protein, catalytic heavy metal extraction, and biomarker assays for diagnosis and classification of cardiac disease. He has been involved as director or founder of multiple startup companies – from devices to molecular genetics focusing on immunology, cancer and cardiology, where he has taken a number of new molecular technologies through state and federal regulatory approval.
In addition to being the CEO & Lab Director of Global Discovery Biosciences (GD Biosciences), Dr. Harrington is a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, a published author of numerous peer-reviewed papers, and a sought after speaker in the area of preventive medicine.
About Americo Simonini, M.D.
Dr. Americo A. Simonini has been involved in cardiac health innovation for 26 years, specializing in Adolescent Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Simonini is attending Cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Simonini is a published author of numerous peer-reviewed papers, and a sought after speaker in the area of cardiovascular medicine.
About GD Biosciences
Global Discovery Biosciences is a pioneer in the field of diagnostic medicine. The company works on the cutting edge of medical research, turns discoveries into innovative products and brings those products to the global marketplace.
The company works with advanced research teams to develop, manufacture and distribute innovative technology platforms to address the needs of the global disease burden. Its CLIA-certified and GMP laboratory performs a menu of clinically effective tests targeting key health issues. Our goal is to equip physicians with the tools they need to transform health care – one patient at a time.
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SOURCE: GD Biosciences
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