Saliva Tests For Disease Screening?
admin on March 29th, 2008 | Filed under Cancer, Crunchy Bytes, Heart, Nutrition, Thyroid, Women's Health
Salivary diagnostic testing may soon be something to smile about as dental researchers have succeeded in identifying all 1,116 unique proteins in human salivary glands. As many as 20% of these proteins are found in blood, which could make one drool over the possibilities of replacing painful (okay, so I have a needle phobia) blood tests with spit-based diagnostic tests for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Proteome ( mapping of proteins) research is a hot new field as genetic research heads into new territory. While our genes provide the instruction manual for function in our bodies, proteins carry out their orders by policing and regulating the cellular process.
This is much different than salivary hormonal testing, which is fraught with transport and analysis issues, resulting in falsely elevated estradiol levels and low progesterone. To date, only cortisol salivary testing is reliable, and then only for showing a pattern of complete suppression at night, rather than absolute reliable values. The next decade of medicine may indeed find us screening for cancers with nothing more than a spit and polish approach. Now that’s something to drool about!
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