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A non-invasive test for a widespread autoimmune blood disorder could be on the horizon thanks to researchers working with visible-near-infrared spectroscopy. The approach could lead to earlier, effective treatment for those at risk of thrombosis and pregnant women who have suffered recurrent miscarriage. Anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), first described in 1983 by Dr Graham Hughes and also known as Hughes syndrome, is an autoimmune blood disorder in which antibodies to phospholipid-binding blood proteins - primarily cardiolipin and beta2-glycoprotein I - are produced leading to the problem of so-called "sticky blood", and potentially life-threatening blood clot formation. Deep vein thrombosis, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and kidney failure are all common effects of APS, it is also thought to be a significant cause of recurrent miscarriage. A simple blood test is already available for APS. The test allows patients to be treated in a timely manner. However, as simple as a blood test can be, there is always room for improvement and automation. Researchers in Japan are using multivariate analysis to explore the possibility of using Vis-NIR spectra as a tool for the objective diagnosis of APS, which might one day lead to a non-invasive test for antiphospholipid antibodies which are not only present in APS, but in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Now, Junzo Nojima of the Laboratory for Clinical Investigation, at Osaka University Hospital and colleagues have analysed the Vis-NIR spectra of 90 plasma samples. Of the samples, 48, were known to contain anti-phospholipid antibodies and 42 were aPLs negative. They subjected the spectra to principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA). This gave them a multivariate model that could readily discriminate between aPLs-positive and aPLs-negative samples. The team then assessed the PCA and SIMCA models by predicting the status of an additional 84 spectra from masked samples. The SIMCA model predicted 42 of 48 aPLs-positive samples (an 87.5% success rate) and 33 of 36 (91.7%) aPLs-negative samples were identified correctly. "Our results suggest that Vis-NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis could provide a promising tool to objectively diagnose APS," the researchers say. Related links:
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