The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new test to helpphysicians diagnose a group of rare cell disorders. The test, orassay, was developed by an expert at Virginia CommonwealthUniversity in the field of mast cells. Lawrence Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Division ofRheumatology, Allergy and Immunology and the Charles and EvelynThomas Professor of Medicine at VCU, has spent more than 30 yearsresearching mast cells. These cells are vital to the inflammatoryprocess within the body and may play protective roles in woundhealing and fighting infections. "When a mast cell is triggered, it releases several strongchemicals into the body, including histamine and tryptase.Histamine causes itching, swelling, wheezing and sneezing and othersigns and symptoms of allergic reactions," said Schwartz. Mastocytosis, a group of rare chronic disorders found in bothchildren and adults, is caused by the presence of too many of thesemast cells in the body. If there are too many mast cells, theincreased burden of chemicals released from these cells can causeseveral symptoms that range in intensity from mild to severe. Because mast cells play a role in allergic reactions, the symptomsof mastocytosis are often similar to an allergic reaction. However,mastocytosis may occur spontaneously rather than be triggered by anallergen. The FDA has cleared ImmunoCAP Tryptase, a new diagnostic assay, tomeasure the level of tryptase in the blood as an aid in thediagnosis of systematic mastocytosis. A persistently elevatedbaseline level of tryptase is an indication of possiblemastocytosis. "A physician cannot diagnose systematic mastocytosis based only ona physical examination. The FDA approval of the tryptase assay willprovide doctors with an additional diagnostic tool," said Schwartz. VCU first licensed the assay in 1993 to Pharmacia, now named ThermoFisher Scientific Inc. The assay has one FDA-approved application -helping to diagnose mastocytosis - and several potentialapplications, including the diagnosis of systemic anaphylaxis , the prediction of increased risk for future episodes of severeanaphylaxis and use by medical examiners to evaluate cause ofdeath. "When somebody dies without a clear cause, by measuring postmortemtryptase levels, an increased level of tryptase provides supportfor an anaphylactic event near the time of death," said Schwartz. Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Android TV Box Dongle , Mid Android Tablet 9 Inch Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits 2G Calling Tablet.
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