Scientists from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have developed a new approach to sampling blood for past viruses. This new method called
VirScan allows a single drop of blood to be analyzed for more than one factor that might be affecting a person's health, rather than just one virus. It is an inexpensive way, costing $25, to analyze viruses in a larger population. This new technology searches for
antibodies of the 206 known viruses to humans. The team intends to take the technology further and look for "antibodies that attack a person's own tissue in autoimmune diseases that are associated with cancer." (HHMI)
In my opinion, this is a great way to look into a patients medical history, at a very inexpensive cost. I think that this could allow researchers to look into a patients history and create tailored drugs that could potentially lead to effective treatments. I would like to read more on this topic and see what researchers have done with their findings.
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It's interesting that the past presence of a virus could have long-term effects in the immune system, tricking the body into thinking it is still present by the production of antibodies.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting, I also found several articles regarding this topic! These blood tests are revolutionizing and will help in researching new diseases, cancers and viruses.
ReplyDelete"A new method that could simultaneously detect responses to all human viruses would allow hypothesis-free analysis to detect associations between past viral infections and particular diseases or population structures. Humoral responses to infection typically arise within 10 to 14 days of initial exposure and can persist over years or decades, thus providing a rich source of the history of pathogen encounters."
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6239/aaa0698