Circulating nucleic acids in the plasma and serum as potential biomarkers in neurological disorders

Neurological diseases are responsible for approximately 6.8 million deaths every year. They affect up to 1 billion people worldwide and cause significant disability and reduced quality of life. In most neurological disorders, the diagnosis can be challenging; it frequently requires long-term investigation. Thus, the discovery of better diagnostic methods to help in the accurate and fast diagnosis of neurological disorders is crucial. Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) are defined as any type of DNA or RNA that is present in body biofluids. They can be found within extracellular vesicles or as cell-free DNA and RNA. Currently, CNAs are being explored as potential biomarkers for diseases because they can be obtained using non-invasive methods and may reflect unique characteristics of the biological processes involved in several diseases. CNAs can be especially useful as biomarkers for conditions that involve organs or structures that are difficult to assess, such as the central nervous system. This review presents a critical assessment of the most current literature about the use of plasma and serum CNAs as biomarkers for several aspects of neurological disorders: defining a diagnosis, establishing a prognosis, and monitoring the disease progression and response to therapy. We explored the biological origin, types, and general mechanisms involved in the generation of CNAs in physiological and pathological processes, with specific attention to neurological disorders. In addition, we present some of the future applications of CNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for these diseases.

Results and analysis of the proficiency of laboratories in detection of Salmonella in laboratory animals / 中国实验动物学报

Objective To understand the Salmonella detectability in the laboratory animal testing laboratories, im-prove the level of detection for the quality of laboratory animals, by means of laboratory animals Salmonella proficiency tes-ting program.Method According to the proficiency testing program approved by CNAS, freeze-dried animal stool samples containing Salmonella bacteria and interference bacteria were prepared, and through stability and homogeneity tests quali-fied as proficiency testing samples.The randomly numbered samples were issued to the participating units by cold-chain transportation, and attached work instructions.The original reports and copies of the tests should be submitted on time.The sample results consistent with the results of the pretested results were considered as satisfactory, and the results inconsistent or fails to submit were judged as unsatisfactory.Results A total of 30 laboratories from 20 provinces and cities nationwide participated in this proficiency testing programs for Salmonella, including 28 ( 93.3%) laboratories with satisfactory re-sults, and two laboratories unsatisfactory ( 6.7%) .29 laboratories used separate culture methods, and two laboratories used PCR method.Conclusions The laboratory animal quality inspection agencies have good detection ability for Salmo-nella.The implementation of the capacity verification plan can well reflect the detection level of laboratories.