For Release On March l3, 2000
Contact: Donna Krupa
703.527.7357
Cell: 703.967.2751
[email protected]
UNDERSTANDING AND PREDICTING HUMAN DISEASE: STATUS REPORTS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT NEW YORK GATHERING
Experts discuss status of human cloning, consequences of the Human Genome Project, progress in developing individually-tailored medications and non-invasive blood testing at forum sponsored by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC)
WASHINGTON, DC -- Updates on the latest in understanding and predicting human disease will be the focus of a conference being sponsored by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) being held at the Marquis Marriott in New York City, March 23-24, 2000. The conference is the first in a series of three programs being sponsored by the organization this spring to discuss the status of clinical laboratory advances and the impact on patient health.
AACC, founded in l948, is the world's most prestigious professional association for clinical laboratorians, clinical and molecular pathologists and others in related fields. Clinical laboratorians are specialists trained in all areas of human laboratory testing, including genetic, hereditary, infectious diseases, the presence of tumor markers and DNA. The primary professional commitment of clinical laboratorians is the understanding of these tests and tests to detect and monitor the treatment of human disease.
The New York meeting presents the chief executives in charge of the clinical laboratory departments at the Harvard, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania Medical Centers, and others, who will address the status of laboratory developments that will profoundly affect the way health care is defined and delivered. Highlights of the meeting include presentations on:
Trends: Human Genome Project, Drugs and Bionics
Three major technology-related breakthroughs are simultaneously emerging that will change the course of our understanding and predicting of human disease: completion of the Human Genome Project, combinatorial chemistry in biotech drug discovery, and bionics. The big news is that these fields will converge to create dramatic improvements in the fight against human diseases, produce earlier and less invasive diagnostic assessment tools, and offer better quality and length of life. William M. Dwyer, MBA, will be discussing these trends and the outlook for screening and predicting future disease potential.
The Human Genome Project - What's Next?
Specific laboratory tests now exist for over 200 genetic diseases, a myriad of infectious pathogens, tumor markers and individual DNA "fingerprints" for paternity testing, forensic identification and twin zygosity determination. Specific laboratory testing for hereditary diseases is growing as more and more genes associated with genetic disorders are mapped, identified and sequenced under the auspices of the Human Genome Project. But because some of the new disease genes have surprisingly high mutation frequencies in the general population, they raise the possibility of large-scale molecular genetic screening; and, unlike DNA testing for infectious disease, molecular genetic testing raises issues about invasion of privacy, stigmatization, impact on other family members, ethnic and racial differences and discrimination. Wayne W. Grody, MD, PhD, Professor in the Divisions of Molecular Pathology and Medical Genetics at the UCLA School of Medicine, will discuss key issues about predictive testing and its potential impact.
Pharmacogenetics (PG) - Tailor Made Drugs for Individual Patients
Why do some patients respond to some drugs and not to others? Which patients will have minimal or no toxic effects from a given drug? Why do some individuals require higher or lower doses for optimum response to medication? Roland Valdes, Jr, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, is presenting the near-term outlook for individualized drug therapy using Pharmacogenetics (PG), the linking of the differences in the individual's gene structure to drug metabolism and response. Dr. Valdes believes that PG-testing of individuals before placing them on many medications will rapidly become the standard of care, given the current advances.
Breakthroughs in Blood Testing: Non-Invasive Testing
As every patient knows, a trip to the physician often requires a blood sample in order to test for the presence of infection, cholesterol, high blood sugar and other key health indicators that are part of a complete blood count (CBC). To obtain the sample, blood must be removed from the body using a needle. Yet a substantial effort is underway to develop non-invasive testing for several elements of the CBC. These efforts are based upon imaging of individual cells and multi-spectral reflectance spectroscopy. James W. Winkelman, MD, Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, will discuss the status of non-invasive CBC testing, and the efforts underway to develop a non-invasive white blood count and platelet count based upon ultraviolet "images."
Science Meets Science Fiction: Will You Soon Analyze Your Own Blood?
The last fifteen years have witnessed an explosion in the development of microchips ("lab-on-a-chip") such as gene chips, antibody chips and bioelectric chips, and a large range of microchip devices, small enough for personal laboratories, are anticipated for the future. The general public's empowerment to perform its own chemical testing is currently very limited, but will the next generation of microchip analyzers permit patients to check their own DNA, glucose, and blood gasses? Larry J. Kricka, DPhil, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and a holder of 26 US patents, will explain the possibility of turning the phrase "patient testing" upside down.
Editor's Note: Complete press releases on select presentations will be available on the AACC homepage on March 23, 2000 (http://www.aacc.org). Contact Donna Krupa at 703.527.7357 to schedule speaker interviews.
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