Overcoming Drug Resistance Patterns in Non-Responders: Proven Best Practices on Informing Your Clinical Strategy

Fibrotic diseases of the heart and liver impact a significant portion of the global population and are a growing public health concern. Fibrosis occurs when fibroblasts deposit excess extracellular material within the tissue in response to certain stimuli or injury. Myocardial fibrosis is associated with nearly all forms of heart disease. The pathological changes that can result from fibrosis include cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, chamber dilation, heart valve stiffening, and others, all of which contribute to heart failure. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a fatty liver disease characterized by hepatocyte inflammation that contributes to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure. NASH is closely linked to obesity and diabetes; changes in diet have thus contributed to its expansion and impact across the globe. Understanding the underlying biology of fibrosis is critical for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac fibrosis, NASH, and other fibrotic diseases.

Hospitals are continually adapting to new models of care and payment, the success of which is often measured at least in part by overall patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction comes from a multitude of areas affected by nearly everyone on the care team, and the medical laboratory lies at an important intersection for not only measuring patient outcomes and satisfaction but for affecting positive change through laboratory initiatives.

Over the past few years, the gastroenterology diagnostic market has witnessed an increase in commercial multiplex diagnostic assays for the detection of a large array of enteric pathogens. These multiplex assays differ in many aspects, one important difference being the number of enteric pathogens that the assays detect. Updated IDSA/SHEA guidelines for the management of infectious diarrhea describe a targeted approach, directing proper test utilization for the diagnosis of infectious diarrhea. The guidelines can assist with the development of targeted testing algorithms to diagnose the enteric pathogens most likely causing disease. This patient-centric targeted testing approach can be supported by using the BD MAX ™ system, which uses separate testing panels for the detection of C. difficile, bacterial, parasitic, and viral pathogens.

This webcast will describe the use of Raman spectroscopy techniques for improving the speed and efficiency of pharmaceutical testing. In the first of two presentations, transmission Raman is discussed as an alternative, non-destructive method for product release testing, working alongside HPLC to significantly reduce the costs and resources spent per content uniformity test. The second presentation focuses on the use of spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for raw material testing through sealed opaque containers. Through-container testing removes the need for sampling—improving quality via increased or 100% ID testing, but with no additional resources required.