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Researchers from the Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass., have developed a paper-based test
for drug-induced liver toxicity. Liver tests are important for patients being
treated for TB as the anti-tuberculosis drugs rifampicin and pyrazinamide can
cause liver damage, especially in people co-infected with hepatitis B or
hepatitis C. Also, people with HIV can develop liver damage when treated with
nevirapine-based drugs. US doctors normally check blood to determine if
patients are developing serious liver damage and adjust medications to suit,
but in developing countries, clinicians may not have easy access to laboratory
facilities to test for drug-induced liver injury, particularly clinicians in
rural areas.
The new test uses a postage
stamp-sized paper device with channels and wells that mix, split, and filter
blood from a finger prick to detect chemical markers. In the trial, researchers
used existing blood samples to compare the device to established tests. The
overall accuracy of the new test was 90 percent compared with the gold standard
of 100 percent. In 15 minutes, the test indicated normal, moderate, or high
levels of liver markers based on color changes. It also includes a control that
confirms the test was accurate. The estimated cost of the test is 10 US cents.
According to Jason Rolland, senior
director of research at Diagnostics For All, which developed the technology,
the test is cheap, easy to use, and portable, without need of electricity or
instruments. Nira Pollock, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical
School, coordinated the trial and is liaising with the National Hospital for
Tropical Disease in Vietnam to conduct field trials with HIV patients. If the
test works as well in the field trials, the researchers are hoping to have a
commercial product by 2014. At present, Diagnostics For All can manufacture 500
to 1,000 tests per day.
The study, “A Paper-Based
Multiplexed Transaminase Test for Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Liver Function
Testing,” was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine 2012 (Sep
19;4(152):152ra129).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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