[Biomarkers of alcohol consumption, an update].

Alcohol disorder is a growing public health concern, both national and globally. Accurate assessment using standardized questionnaires is an important step towards effective management of the patient suffering from alcohol disorder. The use of biochemical laboratory measures often helps in obtaining independent estimations of alcohol use.

Diagnostic value of zinc protoporphyrin in a screening strategy for alpha-thalassemia.

The definitive diagnosis of alpha-thalassemia involves detection of a deletion of one or more alpha-globin that encode the alpha-chains of Hb (hemoglobin). To determine whether DNA analysis is indicated, screening tests such as mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and Hb typing are employed. alpha-Thalassemia often correlates with normal or low HbA2 values.

Laboratory evaluation of a novel capillary blood sampling device for measuring eight clinical chemistry parameters and HbA1c.

Background: The Demecal set enables medically unskilled persons to produce diluted plasma from a single drop of capillary blood at any time and place. The sample is mailed to a certified laboratory for analysis. A marker compound in the dilution buffer enables to correct for individual blood sampling variation.