'Swine flu' breath test could reduce future vaccination shortages, research suggests
July 14, 2011 in Diseases, Conditions, SyndromesA novel breath test, measuring the immune response to the H1N1 flu virus, could help to ease future vaccine shortages by identifying the people who have already been infected with the flu virus.
In a study published 15 July 2011, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Breath Research, researchers have investigated an easy, non-invasive breath test to measure biomolecules that accumulate in response to the H1N1 strain.
Research published last month claimed that over half of the people in Glasgow vaccinated during the 2009 swine flu pandemic were already infected with the flu virus, meaning they were vaccinated unnecessarily. It is thought that similar patterns would have been found throughout the UK.
These vaccinations would not have harmed the people concerned, however local health authorities would have been affected as they attempted to administer the vaccine quickly and effectively on limited supplies.
A fast-acting, non-invasive test for the virus could therefore help to avoid unnecessary vaccinations and help prioritise the people who most need the vaccines.
The researchers, from Cleveland Clinic and Syft Technologies, enrolled 11 individuals on their study of which nine were given the live attenuated H1N1 vaccine and administered the breath test on each of the following seven days.
The breath test examined exhaled nitric oxide (NO) a biomolecule whose production has previously been linked to influenza and viral infection and has been speculated to play a beneficial role in viral clearance.
The results showed a peak in NO levels in all subjects on the third day after vaccination. There were no significant differences in NO levels on any other day.
Of the 11 other compounds examined in the study, only one compound isoprene - showed an elevated level, again on day three. Increased levels of isoprene, a compound produced within the body and a major constituent of exhaled breath, have been reported to reflect oxidative stress in the airways.
Previous findings show that the highest number, and severity, of symptoms related to a H1N1 infection occur on day three, suggesting, along with this research, that this is when an immune response is triggered in the body.
The H1N1 swine flu pandemic of 2009 affected over 214 countries and resulted in approximately 43 million illnesses and 8,870,449 deaths.
This study presents the first direct evidence of a potential test to diagnose H1N1 influenza using your breath, a concept which has already been used to diagnose and monitor asthma, check for transplant organ rejection, and to detect lung cancer and alcohol intoxication.
If a fast, easy, non-invasive breath test is to be mass-produced, the researchers state that further work will need to identify other compounds associated with an immune response that were only touched upon in this study, as well as identifying the exact mechanism underlying the increase in exhaled NO as a result of the live vaccine.
One of the study's authors Professor Raed Dweik said, "This study adds to the growing evidence for the utility of breath analysis in medical diagnostics. More work still needs to be done, however, to identify the specific compounds that change in response to vaccination and to find the biologic link between those compounds and the host response to the vaccine or the actual disease."
More information: "Effect of the influenza A (H1N1) live attenuated intranasal vaccine on nitric oxide (FENO) and other volatiles in exhaled breath" 2011 J. Breath Res. 5 037107 http://iopscience. … r/5/3/037107
Provided by
Institute of Physics
-
Study links 1976 'swine flu' shot to stronger immune response to 21st century pandemic flu
Apr 23, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study: Flu shot better than nasal spray in adults
Sep 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Lawsuit seeks to halt US swine flu vaccination campaign
Oct 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Swine flu killed more Britons last winter than in pandemic
May 25, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine effective in 2009-10 flu season
Jan 11, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
8 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
-
Limits to growth: Scientists identify key metastasis-enabling enzyme
May 22, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
-
Seeing is as seeing does: Spatially-structured retinal input in early development of cortical maps
Apr 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Dreamless nights: Brain activity during nonrapid eye movement sleep
Apr 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
0
-
Take your time: Neurobiology sheds light on the superiority of spaced vs. massed learning
Mar 28, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Flesh-Eating bacteria no cause for panic, experts say
(HealthDay) -- Despite scary headlines by the score, most people don't have to fear that they'll be the next victim of the so-called flesh-eating bacteria disease, experts say.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
World Health Assembly endorses new plan to increase global access to vaccines
Ministers of Health from 194 countries at the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly today endorsed a landmark Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
6 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Physicians definitively links irritable bowel syndrome and bacteria in gut
An overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been definitively linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the results of a new Cedars-Sinai study which used cultures from the small intestine. This is the first study to use this "gold ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
7 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Study provides compelling evidence for an effective new treatment for tinnitus
According to new research, a multidisciplinary approach to treating tinnitus that combines cognitive behaviour therapy with sound-based tinnitus retraining therapy is significantly more effective than currently available ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
22 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Infections may be deadly for many dialysis patients
An infection called peritonitis commonly arises in the weeks before many dialysis patients die, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings sugges ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 24, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...
Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought
Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...
Inherited DNA change explains overactive leukemia gene
A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia.
Early physical therapist treatment associated with reduced risk of healthcare utilization and reduced overall healthcare
A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower ...
Skp2 activates cancer-promoting, glucose-processing Akt
HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.
Implantable pain disk may help those with cancer
An estimated 3.5 million cancer patients around the globe are in severe pain from their disease, but many get no relief.