The researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a sensitive technology capable of distinguishing between the disease- and normal-state glucose metabolism by conducting a rapid assay of exhaled air or blood.
Titled “Novel diagnostics of metabolic dysfunction detected in breath and plasma by selective isotope-assisted labeling”, the research on the breathalyzer-like technology has been published in the February issue of the journal Metabolism.
The researchers are hopeful that the new technology can help detect biochemical changes caused by metabolism changes due to infections, cancer and diabetes, before the symptoms appear. The early disease detection can prove beneficial with faster, cheaper and sensitive diagnosis.
In their research, mice with metabolic symptoms comparable to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine disorder affecting women, was studied. The researchers measured the isotopic signatures of metabolic, carbon-containing byproducts in the breath or blood of the mice to detect metabolic changes. The most active metabolic pathways in the healthy or sick mice were traced by injecting glucose containing an atom of heavier isotope carbon-13. In a matter of minutes, the researchers noted the changes in the ratio between carbon-12 and carbon-13 present in the exhaled breath.
PCOS is a condition that affects 1 in 10 women and is diagnosable only after puberty. The senior author of the study, Dr Fariba Assadi-Porter explained that the technology can aid in diagnosing PCOS in women even before puberty, thus enabling control of the disease by exercise, diet and medication. This can prevent the women from being affected by associated problems such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Dr Fariba also stated that the pattern of the ratios in the breath or blood differs from disease to disease, thus making it suitable to detect a range of diseases.
The researchers concluded that the cavity ring-down spectroscopy conducted on the exhaled breath was a non-invasive and more sensitive approach that the blood serum-based assays. The cavity-ring down spectroscopy on exhaled breath currently employs a shoebox-sized machine. The technology will be developed by Isomark, a medical technology company based in the University Research Park at Madison.
Source: http://www.wisc.edu/