2006 SERIES ARTICLES

Pharmacogenetic Testing: How to Choose a Method to Analyze Genetic Changes
By Deborah Payne, PhD
July 2006

Personalized medicine promises to make pharmaceutical drugs safer and more effective by correlating drug levels and polymorphisms of drug metabolizing enzymes. Various pharmacogenetic tests exist to determine which polymorphisms exist in a patient’s genome, and labs must decide which testing method to utilize for their research.

Serum Free Light Chains: Quantitation and Clinical Utility In Assessing Monoclonal Gammapathies
By Jerry A. Katzmann, PhD
June 2006

Advances in automated assays have now made it possible to quantify immunoglobulin free light chains in serum, allowing for more studies to be done on monoclonal gammopathies , better monitoring of diseases associated with light chains, and the prediction of which patients with monoclonal gammopathies will progress to malignancy. Labs must now work to incorporate these assays as a viable method to initially evaluate patients suspected of monoclonal gammopathies.

Immunosuppressant Drugs: Measurement by Tandem Mass Spectrometry
By Kim B. Plath, MT (ASCP), Geoffrey A. Talmon, MD, and Douglas F. Stickle, PhD, DABCC, FACB
May 2006

The use of immunosuppressant drugs is a critical part of ensuring a successful organ transplant, but regular monitoring of blood concentrations is required to make certain that toxic reactions are avoided. Absorption and metabolism rates of immunosuppressant drugs are variable among individuals, making it necessary for most patients to have some form of therapeutic drug monitoring for life. The use of tandem mass spectrometry is increasingly being used for this purpose.

Personalized Medicine: Emerging Strategies for Therapeutic Drug Measurement
By William Clarke, PhD, and Gwen McMillin, PhD
April 2006

For personalized drugs to become a reality, diagnostic tools that can accurately measure how well a patients processes a drug, and how well a patient responds to a drug, will have to be developed. Analyzing this on a personal and genetic level will eliminate most of the trial and error associated with new pharmacotherapies, and ultimately lead to fewer adverse drug reactions.

Anabolic Steroids: Testing Athletes for Illegal Steroid Use
By Don H. Catlin, MD, and Caroline K. Hatton, PhD
March 2006

Despite their illegality and the detrimental health effects, some athletes still ingest anabolic steroids for their performance enhancing effects. Testing for these steroids in the lab can be a difficult process, both from a clinical and legal standpoint.

Oxygen Saturation: A Guide to Laboratory Assessment
By Shannon Haymond, PhD
February 2006

Measuring oxygen saturation is especially important for patients with respiratory problems or metabolic or genetic disorders, and is commonly used in emergency rooms and other intensive care settings. Although there are many methods to measure oxygen saturation, and often times the results are identical, in some situations the results might be misleading and healthcare professionals need to understand the differences and limitations of each system.

Quality Control: How Labs Can Apply Six Sigma Principles to Quality Control Planning
By James O. Westgard, PhD
January 2006

Six Sigma has emerged as a laboratory quality management tool that can help laboratorians determine how much quality control is needed in their labs. By using a sigma metric that takes into account the level of quality needed for a test, and the precision and accuracy that needs to be observed, laboratorians will be able to plan the level of quality control that is required.