Clinical Chemistry Blog Notes 13

First WEek of InternShip

2009-10-05T04:18:00.000-07:00

My first week of being an intern at AUFMC, is just like our preceptorship day. We were not yet assigned in our permanent sections in the lab because Ma'am Noemi is on --- leave (sorry, im not allowed to say the word :)) hehe) So we waited until she came and give us our partner and our section. My partner in Phlebotomy section is non other than--Shane! Cant believe that she would be my lab partner for 6months.

At first we were both nervous in extracting blood from patients, but of course we dont have a choice, we cannot endorse every extraction to our staff and the fact that we are there to learn. And so now, on my third week in that section, I'm well adjusted with the works there. We also join our staff in warding, we usually have 5AM, 6AM, 10AM, 8PM, and 12MN hours of warding.

Night duties are the "magastos" duty that we have. Because we usually eat at least 4x from 1PM-8AM of duty. We are lucky if we have 4hrs of sleep, from my last duty I only have an hour for nap time. And always expect that you have loads of specimen in the morning specially when its weekdays. It's not toxic in the lab during weekends.

The staff there are good, we have junior and senior staff. Most of the staff there are former students in AUF, so we share common stories during dull time.

Drug Testing

2009-09-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

" Do you agree that drug testing should be done as a requirement for admission to schools? Why and why not?"

I agree that drug testing should be included as one of the tests to be accomplished by an incoming student when enrolling in a university or school.

Let's face it, not all freshmen are first timers in college, some are transferees from other schools. It's a another way of checking the background or personality of individuals.

Taking drugs like marijuana and cocaine which are substances of abuse is not something to be proud of. People using these (for me) are people who have problems and are not capable of handling them.

No one wants to be in a school with classmates who are drug users in the first place. And for parents, they don't want their children to be exposed in that kind of environment. They brought their children to school to learn good things and not to be influenced to the wrong direction.

And if you're the school owner, you don't want your school to be call "School of Addicts", it would be a greatly disgrace if you have students who are drug users just because they want to be happy. So I really agree of drug testing as a part of admission test for an incoming student.

Picture: media.photobucket.com

2009-09-01T03:37:00.000-07:00

Answers:

1. EIA (Enzyme Immunoassay)
2. True
3-5. Unknown (antigen), Antibody (enzyme linked), substrate
6-8. Sandwich ELISA, Competitive ELISA, Indirect ELISA
9. True
10. True

CASE Analysis

The doctor might order a test to determine the calcium level in the womans body including the hormones that regulate the calcium.

ELISA is recommended method in determination of hormone levels. Because its a direct measurement, and a very specific method.

CasE AnaLysiS for ELISA

2009-08-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

1. Other name for ELISA.

2. True or false: The principle of ELISA is to detect an unknown sample using a specific antibody which is linked in an enzyme, which the antigen will react with, that will be measured directly.

3-5. What are the reagents used in ELISA?

6-8. Give at least three example of ELISA.

9. True or false: Elisa can also be used in measuring hormone?

10. True or false: Can ELISA be considered a confirmatory test?

CaSE AnaLysis

A 60 y.o. woman is experiencing backache, broken bones or fracture, decrease in height, and was diagnosed to have a mild osteoporosis 10years ago. Her doctor gave her already medicines and she started to recover from it. Unfortunately, due to insufficient money, she failed to complete her medications and begun to work as a laundry woman in a rich family. Because the family loved her, they sent her to a doctor and promised to support her entire medication.

What is the possible test her doctor might request for her?

Give one method which can confirm test results.

Reference:

Picture:

flckr.com

Others:
Health.yahoo.com

FeeLinG LucKY!!

2009-08-09T01:36:00.000-07:00

WooooH! I cannot believe it, I won a hundred dollar from the raffle in the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Contest.

Congrats for all the winners, the Top 10 Influential Bloggers and the other lucky persons who were picked in the lottery bowl.

Thank you so much for the sponsors and ofcourse Maam Janette.=)

happy&excited

ELISA

2009-08-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

ELISA

Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, as the name implies, it uses enzyme, antigen, and antibody reaction. It is also known as EIA, or Enzyme Immunoassay. It can measure antigen-antibody binding. You can use it in measuring hormones, enzymes etc.

Principle: Unknown antigen is attached in a cell surface, then you will add a specific antibody to which that antigen will react to (you now have antigen-antibody reaction)this antibody is linked to an enzyme. To have a measurement of the antigen-antibody reaction you need to add a substance which can cause the enzyme  to produce a detectable signal, like an amplifier. (e.g. Fluorescense ELISA)

There are several types of of ELISA:

Indirect ELISA and Sandwich ELISA

Competitive ASSAY

In relation to parathyroid hormone, ELISA can be used to measure the amount of PTH in our system. As mentioned in the intorduction, it can measure hormones. You can apply any of the severeal types of ELISA procedure. ELISA kit are now available in the market for easy use.

Reference:

Images: biology.arizona
                ncbi.nlm
                mdsystem.com

Others: wikipedia.com

Top 10 Blogs

2009-07-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

ToP 10 iNfLuEntiAL BlogS of 2009

They say writing is a passion. But for these bloggers, writing is not just their passion, and not just a hobby, but their own way of expressing themselves, their thoughts, and ideas. And now presenting The 10 Most Influential and Inspiring blogs :

1. Zorlone

A doctor by profession, specialist in Internal Medicine. Continues to share his talent and inspire people - for those who read his blog.

2. The Struggling Blogger

Despite life's challenges, he still remains strong. He helps other people without asking for something in return. You would see inspiring poems and articles in Roy dela Cruz's blog.

And he wrote a post for us which had helped us a lot to be known in the blogging world. Dakal pung salamat Sir Roy,

3. Jan Geronimo of WritingToExhale

A writer who pens from the heart. The emotions dripping from his pen inspires and motivates me to become a better person.

4. Angel Cuala of Father Blogger dot com

A responsible family man. Fathers should emulate him for his love for his family. A great blogger!

5. Irene of LifeLots

Good articles are found in her blog. As a student, her thoughts are sources of inspiration for me.

6. Luke of A Walk In The Dark

The title of the blog is far from his posts. I feel a warmth from the person who is behind the powerful articles. His first post got so many comments.

7. Holly Jahangiri of It’s all a matter of Perspective: Mine

Down-to-earth woman. Her posts are candid and straightforward.

8. Bingkee of I Love/Hate America

She writes with no fear. I admire her audacity and zest for life.

9. Kelvin Servigon of Kelvinonian Ideas 2.0

He could be a model for us. In his young age he made a name for himself in the blogging world.

10. Dee of Tales From The Mom Side

She has witty and informative posts deserved to be read.

To all my nominees, Goodluck. May you all continue to inspire people. God is with you.

Before I forget , these are the sponsors: (I want to win ...lol)

Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, http://www.eventsatwork.com/, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, Blog4Reviews.com and Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies.

viDe0 oF pAraThyR0id GlanD

2009-07-14T02:32:00.001-07:00

uploaded from: youtube

The video is short, yet it gave you a background on how the parathyroid gland works.=)

The parathyroid gland/s are small but it has a major role in our system that cannot be neglected.

aNsWeRs to Parathyroid gland quiz

2009-06-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

1. An individual has 4-6 parathyroid glands.
2. To secrete parathyroid hormone that regulates the calcium, magnesium and phosphate in our system.
3.4. The chief and the oxyphil cells are the cells commonly found in the parathyroid gland
5-7. The parathyroid regulates the secretion, excretion and absorption of calcium, phosphate and magnesium in our body.
8-9. Hyperparathyroidism & hypoparathyroidism
10. The parathyroid gland is located posteriorly in the surface of the thyroid gland.

CaSe AnaLySis

Case 1
The probable condition of the old woman is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is characterized by having a fragile bone because the bone has loss its normal density. And people having osteoporosis have a high risk of bone fracture. Common symptoms of osteoporosis are fractured bones (can be in spine and in hips) and lower backaches.

Osteoporosis is routinely diagnosed by x-ray. X-ray reveals that a bone having an osteoporosis is much thinner and lighter compared to normal bones, but the disadvantage of x-ray is that it cannot detect early stages of osteoporosis. So, for better diagnosis the National Osteoporosis foundation and the other major medical organization recommend- DUAL ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTION SCAN (DXA, formerly known as DEXA).

It only uses small amounts of radiation and it measures bone density in the hip and in the spine and compares it to the average bone density of an adult of the same sex and race. It is measured using a standard deviation.

Factors that have a high risk of having osteoporosis are:

females
thin and small body frames
personal history of fracture as an adult
family history of oasteoporosis
diet low in calcium
cigarette smoking
poor nutrition
no exercise

Case 2

Hyperparathyroidism.

As the name implies, hyperparathyroidism, is an excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone by parathyroid gland.

The common symptoms of hyperparathyroidism are:

you feel nervous, moody, weak or tired
have hand tremors
sweat a lot
loss weight

Too much parathyroid hormone can cause complications. Some of its underlying conditions are:

parathyroid adenoma
parathyroid hyperplasia
parathyroid cancer
kidney problems(kidney failure)
familial endocrine neoplasia type 1

As said in the case, Angelo, have developed underlying complications. He developed kidney problems, caused by his hyperparathyroidism.

The usual scenario of hyperparathyroidism is, the balanced is disrupted. The blood calcium levels increase (hypercalemia), which may indicate that there is problem in the px parathyroid gland.

The common cause of it is family history with the said disease. Common ways to diagnose is by measuring PTH in the blood sample of the patient. And because there is too much calcium in the system, bone density can be checked too.

The simplified solution for this is the removal of the enlarged parathyroid gland, even if your parathyroid gland has been removed, it can regenerate again to produce a new parathyroid gland.

Reference:

- Cure Research
- Endocrine. niddk
- Parathyroid.com
- Medicinenet.com

ExERciSE yoUR bRaiN ceLLs

2009-06-19T23:54:00.001-07:00

Quiz time!!

1. What is the average number of parathyroid gland/s an individual must have?
2. What is the major role of parathyroid gland?
3-4. What are the cells that are usually found in the parathyroid gland?
5-7. Name the 3 elements which are regulated by this gland?
8-9. Name at least two disorder associated with the parathyroid gland.
10. Where are the parathyroid gland located?

CASE ANALYSIS 1

A 62 y.o. lady went to a doctor and complained of backaches and loss of height. In addition to her complains, she also experience the following: deformity of her spine, and brittle bones.

What could be the possible reason/s for the above mentioned symptoms?
What could be the test that can be ordered by the doctor to diagnose her condition?
Enumerate and discuss briefly other diagnostic test to confirm the initial diagnosis.

CASE ANALYSIS 2

A man named Angelo have observed changes to his physical health. he noticed that he easily get tired after doing small tasks in his office. His co-workers observed too that he usually had mood swings.
He had his monthly check up and the laboratory findings revealed:
-blood calcium level increase
-urinalysis reveals stone from his kidney
-increase level of PTH

What could be the probable condition of Angelo?
Give some underlying conditions and complications regarding his condition.

Parathyroid Gland (Ana Physio)

2009-06-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

The smallest Endocrine Gland.

The Parathyroid gland is located posteriorly in the surface of the thyroid gland. Usually, an individual has four to six of it, 8 being the greatest number.

Its main cells are:

a) parathyroid chief cell

b) oxyphil cell

These cells are spread through out the parathyroid gland. They are packed closely to the capillaries, which differentiates this gland from the thyroid gland.

The major role of parathyroid gland is to secrete parathyroid hormone. This hormone is the major regulator of calcium, phosphate and magnesium in the blood.

It increases the blood’s calcium and phosphate by bone resorption. As the values of calcium and magnesium increase, the PTH acts in the kidney by excreting the excess amount of Ca^2+, and Mg²⁺ in the urine.

This process also applies to the values of HPO₄^2-, it also decreases its concentration in the blood through excretion in the urine.

Another role of PTH is to secrete calcitriol, which is the active form of Vit. D. It is also known as 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D.

The role of calcitriol is to increase the absorption of calcium, magnesium and phosphate in the gastrointestinal tract.

Reference:

Principles of Human Anatomy And Physiology by Tortora & Derickson

Photo of ">parathyroid gland

Welcome

2009-05-26T00:51:00.001-07:00

Hi, I'm Ma. Raychel, welcome to my blog.