The collection and transport of dried blood spots has facilitated population screening of newborns worldwide. In the July 2013 issue of Clinical Chemistry, researchers from the Wadsworth Center at the New York State Department of Health in Albany described a convenient technique to extract DNA from these dried blood spots to further expand screening to nucleic acid testing.

Alzheimer's disease is a complex progressive neurodegenerative disease leading to loss of memory and cognitive function, and pathologically characterized by amyloid plaques and tangles that are formed largely by fibular forms of beta-amyloid and hyper-phosphorylated tau proteins. During the past two decades, cumulative molecular and clinical studies have provided the basis for our understanding of the molecular characteristics and progressive pathologic features of these hallmarks.

On the cover this month:

American West Rodeo Cowboy Boots with Riding Spurs. Images of traditional leather boots on old weathered wood planks have long been identified with Texas, whose largest city,

Houston, is the site of this year's AACC

Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo. Houston's summers may be hot, and

Houston may not be the first place you think of as being trendy or hip; yet

Forbes

Magazine

recently named Houston as America'

s coolest city to live in. The

downtown has been revitalized with an

exquisite restaurant scene, professional

sports facilities, musical entertainmen

t, museums, theaters, and a modern

convention center. And when you includ

e the breadth of science that will be

presented at the Annual Meeting, you wi

ll realize that the AACC and Houston

have it all!

The format of communicating scientific, technical, and medical information through professional journals has changed relatively little over the past 300 years. Although advances and information technology have dramatically altered search and discovery of scientific information, moving from a static to a living document, or exploiting social media tools to disseminate scientific information, has been slow coming.

Measurement of serum thyroglobulin may be complicated by the presence of endogenous anti-thyroglobulin auto-antibodies which have the potential to interfere with immunoassays and cause false negative results.

Approximately 1 million metal-on-metal hip prostheses have been implanted worldwide to alleviate pain, restore hip function and improve overall quality of life.

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, a key cardiovascular biomarker is recommended by National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel Guidelines, for assessing cardiovascular disease risk and for monitoring lipid-lowering therapy; however, some workers believe that the number of circulating LDL particles rather than LDL cholesterol is a strong indicator of future cardiovascular disease events.

June 2013 Audio Summary

Readmissions after hospitalization for heart failure are an

increasingly important problem, with a significant number of patients being re-hospitalized within 30 days of discharge.

Chemicals in tobacco smoke may influence vitamin D metabolism and function, and vitamin D itself may modify the carcinogenity of tobacco smoke.