| Home Contact Teamwork Branches Devices Q&A Diseases |
|
Fibro Test
Q. what is Fibro Test ? A.Until recently no blood test taken separately or in combination with others has values sufficient to replace liver biopsy. The patient had to be subjected to liver biopsy, which is a dangerous operation with a High mortality rate, to assess his liver. Fibro test and Acti test is a new alternative to liver biopsy, generally for hepatic patients and specially for hepatitis C patients, It consist of 6 combined markers which are simple, robust, easily measurable and automatizable. The index of fibrosis (Fibro Test) combines proportioning in the blood of 5 indirect markers of fibrosis, (Alpha 2 Macroglobulin, Haptoglobin, Apolipoprotein A1, Total Bilirubin, Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase) with an adjustment according to the age and the sex of the person. The index of activity (ActiTest) combines the same markers with the proportioning of transaminase ALT. Now due to cooperation contract between TibaLab and Biopredective (France) with a simple blood sample at any of our branches you can have these tests performed and your liver assessed to be treated accordingly. Q. Do I have to be fasting to take those tests? A. Despite the fact that studies proved no difference in results between fasting and random samples but we require a minimum of 12 hours fasting. Q. Is the tests performed at TibaLab or in France? A. The 6 parameters that constitute the test are performed in TibaLab then we send the results to biopredective in France for the FibroTest-ActiTest calculation. Q. How much does it cost? A. The 6 parameter which are performed at TibaLab are of the same regular price like any other lab. The calculation will cost the equivalent of 50 . Q. Will I need a hepatologist to assess the results of the tests? A. Yes you most certainly will need a good hepatologist to be able to assess the results and to treat you accordingly. Q. I did some of these tests recently, Can I use those or do I have to do them again? A. TibaLab was approved by biopredictive to be responsible for the test in Egypt due to the fact that we met certain criteria All our equipments and kits are manufactured by Roche diagnostics the biggest and the most eminent name in laboratory diagnostics. All the parameters of the test are performed on the Roche Integra Auto analyzer which the tests was originally calculated and created on. Samples are bar-coded instantly in front of the patient. All the tests are performed from primary tubes and recognized automatically by the auto analyzers with no chance of samples mixing. So we can't be held responsible for results from other labs. Osteoporosis Q.what is Osteoporosis ? A.Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which excessive bone breakdown leads to structural disturbance and excessive porosity of bone. Bones become fragile and more likely to break. Osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These breaks (fractures) typically occur in the hip, spine and wrist. Q.What causes osteoporosis? A.Osteoporosis results from an imbalance between the bone-building and bone-destroying cells involved in the normal cycle of bone formation and resorption. The loss of bone mass becomes so severe that even everyday activities that put a minimal strain on bones can cause them to fracture. Q.How can such an imbalance arise? A. Fall in estrogen levels during the menopause. Lifestyle and nutrition: smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, low body weight, inadequate calcium intake. Diseases and the drugs used to treat them: chemotherapy, treatment of thyroid disease, chronic corticosteroid therapy, diabetes, chronic kidney disease. Genetic factors. Q.Are genes responsible for osteoporosis? A.Genetic research studies are now being conducted to try to identify the genetic risk factors associated with osteoporosis. Any gene involved in bone formation or metabolism is an obvious candidate for which a variation may result in an increased risk to develop osteoporosis. The genes COL 1A1 and COL 1A2, located on chromosome 17, play a role in the formation of collagen, an important constituent of bone. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone formation. Malfunction of the receptor for this vitamin results in low bone density at an early age. Q.How is osteoporosis diagnosed? A.Osteoporosis can be diagnosed relatively easily by: medical history. basic investigations, including x-rays. bone mass density. QCT (quantitative computed tomography). QUS (quantitative ultrasound scanning). DXA (DEXA) dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. biochemical markers of bone turnover (serum + urine). bone formation. bone breakdown. Q.How can osteoporosis be treated? A.In osteoporosis, or even severe osteoporosis with fractures, the principal aims of treatment are to prevent further fractures and consequent loss of mobility, general incapacity and need for nursing care; to relieve pain; and thus to improve the patients quality of life. Possible forms of treatment: Increased intake of calcium and vitamin D Hormone replacement (e.g. estrogens) Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), e.g. raloxifene, inhibit bone breakdown Calcitonin (a hormone produced by the parathyroid glands) inhibits osteoclasts Bisphosphonates inhibit osteoclasts Other substances are currently undergoing clinical trials Increased physical activity complements therapy Q.How can osteoporosis be prevented A.Various measures can help to prevent, or at least retard, the progressive loss of bone that occurs with increasing age. In addition to physical exercise and a suitable diet, they include prevention, measures undertaken by the patient and early detection by the doctor. Prevention: Nutrition, intake of calcium and vitamin D Physical activity Early detection and treatment by the doctor: Diagnosis Treatment Q.Did you know that... A. by 2050 the number of osteoporotic hip fractures around the world is expected to increase three-fold to 6.3 million from 1.7 million in 1990? the medical costs of treating 2.3 million osteoporotic fractures in both Europe and the US add up to at least US$ 27 billion per year? in many countries women over the age of 45 spend more days in hospital for osteoporotic fractures than for any other disease Contact us For more information about FibroTest-ActiTest contact us on info@tibalab.com For medical professions or for an electronic copy of the fibrochure (the fibrotest-actitest investigator brochure) send empty email to info@tibalab.com with the word fibrochure in the subject (N.B. Fibrochure is 2.2 MB so check if your email can tolerate that size in one message before sending for fibrochure |