Guidelines for management of actual or suspected inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants.

Background: Inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants is an uncommon adverse event of both ultrasound-guided and direct vision sclerotherapy. This complication can result in significant tissue or limb loss and significant long-term morbidity.

Objectives: To provide recommendations for diagnosis and immediate management of an unintentional intra-arterial injection of sclerosing agents.

New and improved proteomics technologies for understanding complex biological systems: addressing a grand challenge in the life sciences.

This White Paper sets out a Life Sciences Grand Challenge for Proteomics Technologies to enhance our understanding of complex biological systems, link genomes with phenotypes, and bring broad benefits to the biosciences and the US economy. The paper is based on a workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, 14-15 February 2011, with participants from many federal R&D agencies and research communities, under the aegis of the US National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Opportunities are identified for a coordinated R&D effort to achieve major technology-based goals and address societal challenges in health, agriculture, nutrition, energy, environment, national security, and economic development.

A model for harmonizing flow cytometry in clinical trials.

Complexities in sample handling, instrument setup and data analysis are barriers to the effective use of flow cytometry to monitor immunological parameters in clinical trials. The novel use of a central laboratory may help mitigate these issues.

Autotransplantation of teeth: an overview.

Unlabelled: Autotransplantation is the surgical repositioning of a tooth within the same patient. It can be thought of as a controlled avulsion and re-implantation of a tooth in a new, surgically prepared socket. The indications for its use are discussed, as too are factors affecting the success and the clinical procedures.

Quantitation of HER2 and telomerase biomarkers in solid tumors with IgY antibodies and nanocrystal detection.

In an effort to improve affinity biomarker validation in fixed patient tissue specimens, we have developed a novel quantum dot-based bioimaging system that utilizes chicken IgY antibody for high sensitivity and specificity relative quantitation of cancer proteins. Monospecific, polyclonal IgYs were generated against human HER2 and telomerase, and analytically validated for specificity by western blot and immunohistochemistry on tumor and normal cells and for relative affinity by layered peptide array (LPA). IgYs bound desired targets in cell lines and fixed tissues and showed greater affinity than commercial mammalian antibodies for both HER2 and telomerase proteins.

Standards for autoantibody testing; addressing future needs for autoimmune disease and cancer diagnosis.

It is widely held that determination of increased levels of serum autoantibodies can play an important role in the diagnosis and, in some cases, management of many autoimmune diseases. It is also widely held that such testing is fraught with problems relating to accuracy and detection of clinically relevant autoantibodies. Attempts to standardize autoantibody testing by making available standard reference sera, have helped to some degree to improve the testing.