Ectopic pregnancy, where the baby develops outside the womb, can be life-threatening. Early diagnosis is essential but can take days. New research shows that the normal levels of placental growth factor become undetectable in ectopic pregnancies, and therefore provide the potential for rapid diagnosis.

Pre-eclampsia, a combination of increased blood pressure with protein in the urine, develops in about 4% of first pregnancies. Those affected need to be monitored closely because about one in 50 develop full eclampsia in the last three months of pregnancy or during labour. With full eclampsia come fits, fluid in the lungs, kidney failure and clotting problems. Professor David Bates from the Microvascular Research Laboratories in the University of Bristol and co-workers have investigated a protein called VEGF165b that inhibits the growth of new blood vessels. They found that women with normal pregnancies showed a 10-fold increase in VEGF165b in their blood plasma by the 12th week, while women who went on to develop pre-eclampsia had no increase. The researchers concluded that low plasma VEGF165b may prove to be a clinically useful marker in the first three months of pregnancy for an increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

A new, 'next-generation' blood test that speeds up the time it takes to help diagnose heart attacks was recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Though the test has been used in other countries for seven years, it only became cleared for use in the U.S. on January 18, 2017.

Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is prevalent in Southeast Asia. It often causes no symptoms until locally advanced. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 10 August 2017, blood plasma samples from more than 20,000 men of Chinese descent aged 40 to 62 living in Hong Kong were tested for circulating DNA fragments of the Epstein-Barr virus. There were persistently positive results in 309 men who were then offered examination of their nasopharynx with an endoscope and by MRI scanning. Of the 300 men examined 34 (11%) were found to have nasopharyngeal cancer, and it was at an early and potentially curable stage in 16 of them.

Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is uncommon in the UK but is prevalent in Southeast Asia. Those at most risk are middle-aged men of Chinese descent, particularly smokers with a family history of the condition. Symptoms include a stuffy nose, nose bleeds, deafness or tinnitus...

The early symptoms of myeloma are not very specific, but if a patient’s haemoglobin and plasma viscosity are both abnormal, this should prompt urgent blood and urine testing for the presence of abnormal proteins.

Biliary atresia is a rare life-threatening malformation of the bile duct that obstructs the passage of bile from the liver to the gut and causes jaundice. An operation to relieve the obstruction is needed to prevent severe liver damage and possible liver transplantation. It is more likely to be successful the earlier the diagnosis is made. In a study published in the December 2011 issue of the journal Pediatrics researchers report that babies with biliary atresia have raised blood concentrations of conjugated or direct bilirubin as early as the second or third day of life. This blood test is commonly performed in most UK laboratories and the authors suggest it might prove a useful screening test.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recently published guidance on acute kidney injury, (http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG169) a condition that refers to the loss of kidney function over hours or days. Laboratory professionals are working to design a standardised method of electronically alerting healthcare professionals to acute kidney injury.

Each year more than 700,000 newborn babies in the UK have laboratory tests carried out on blood spots to screen for five rare inherited diseases. If these diseases are detected early in life, the baby can be treated, in order to improve health and prevent disability or even death. From July 2012 a pilot study will screen more than 400,000 newborns for a further five very rare diseases. The results will be evaluated after one year by the UK National Screening Committee.

A US study of 1537 women aged 42 to 52 years claims that a highly sensitive blood test for an ovarian hormone, anti-Mūllerian hormone (AMH), can predict the timing of a woman’s last menstrual period.