DS30 Hcy

Automated Homocysteine measurement

Research is leading to a growing awareness of the connection between raised homocysteine levels and coronary disease. The DS30 Hcy is the first product designed specifically for the precise and routine measurement of homocysteine.

A recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that in patients who already have some form of heart disease, those with the highest levels of homocysteine were more llikely to die sooner because of their heart disease, than those patients who had lower values of homocysteine.

(Source:”New England Journal of Medicine, volume 37:4 p230 - 236 Plasma Homocysteine levels and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease.” Authors - Nygrd, Nordehaug, Refsum, Ueland, Farstad and Vollset)

The paper recommended promoting homocysteine measurement for patients with already diagnosed coronary heart disease.

Increased homocysteine (Hcy) levels may indicate deficiencies in vitamin B12, Vitamin B6 or folate. Increased homocysteine levels are also important as an independent risk factor for thrombosis and cardiovascular disease. Recent research studies have demonstrated that homocysteine is a potent inducer of atherosclerosis and Hcy is becoming one of the most popular markers for evaluating the atherogenic risk to a patient. Drew Scientific has developed a rapid and cost effective test kit for routine testing of Hcy. The DS30 system for assaying Hcy in Plasma or Serum is based on liquid chromatography.

The pre-column derivatisation includes a release of the plasma/serum bound fraction of Hcy followed by fluorescent labelling with a thiol-specific dye.

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