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Indianapolis, Ind. August 26, 2003
Roche Diagnostics NT-proBNP as a marker for emergency diagnosis
Elecsys® proBNP from Roche Diagnostics is the world's first
fully-automated biochemical laboratory test for heart failure. The
test facilitates the early diagnosis of heart failure. An elevated
concentration of NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide)
in the blood indicates the presence of ventricular dysfunction and
provides information about its severity: the higher the blood level
of NT-proBNP, the more serious the condition.
The suitability of the NT-proBNP assay for a range of indications
has now been confirmed by research data. The marker has additional
potential in emergency diagnosis, as shown recently by a study group
at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona who investigated 64 patients
with acute dyspnoea1). The results of the study confirm
the suitability of NT-proBNP as an efficient marker in emergency
diagnosis, both for excluding and detecting ventricular dysfunction2).
"Elecsys® proBNP is an innovative immunodiagnostic test
which significantly improves the diagnosis of patients suffering
from heart failure ", according to Burkhard Piper, head of
Centralized Diagnostics. The automated, standardized test method,
which is based on electrochemiluminescence, delivers a result in
just 18 minutes. Collecting a blood sample is easy and independent
of any physical activity and fluctuations occuring during the day.
No dietary preparation is necessary. Due to the markers stability,
samples can be stored for long periods and dispatched without any
problems.
1) E. Zapico-Muñiz, M. Santaló-Bel, L.
López, C. Cotes, S. Benito, A. Bayés-Genís,
J. Ordonez-Llanos; Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona,
SPAIN. Identification of heart failure by amino terminal brain
natriuretic pro-peptide (NTproBNP) measurements in patients with
acute dyspnea. The DAPIC Study; Poster at the AACC, 20-24 July
2003.
2) The clinical utility of NT-proBNP as a marker in emergency
diagnosis has not been cleared by the US FDA.
About Roche and Roche Diagnostics
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses
are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the
global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals
for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier
of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment
of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to
improving people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly
62,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and research
and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority
ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Diagnostics
Division, the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics with a uniquely
broad product portfolio, supplies a wide array of innovative testing
products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals
and laboratories world-wide. For further information, please visit
our websites www.roche.com and
www.roche-diagnostics.com.
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