INTRODUCTION: The use of signal dogs for cancer detection is not yet routinely performed,but dogs and their powerful olfactory system have proven to be a unique and valuable tool for many lineages and are beginning to be incorporated into medical practice. This method has great advantages; the dog can detect a tumour in the human body already in preclinical stages, when the patient has no symptoms yet. The identification of cancer biomarkers to enable early diagnosis is a need for many types of cancer, whose prognosis is strongly dependent on the stage of the disease. However, this method also has its various pitfalls that must be taken into account. AIM: The aim of the study was to identify and highlight the factors that affect the level of detection accuracy, but also the conditions associated with olfactometric diagnosis. METHODS: The study included 48 dogs and 48 handlers, that were part of the training between 2016 and 2023.All those who started olfactometry training and remained in training for at least one year were included in the study. The dogs ranged in age from 8 months to 12 years and were of different races and sexes. After long-term observation, a qualitative analysis was performed and factors that may play a role in the early detection of the disease were listed. RESULTS: The results of the search for the different factors have been compiled into two groups, focussing on the actual handling of the patient biological sample from collection, processing, storage until transport, preparation of the sample,and detection. Focus on the actual work and behaviour of the dog and handler. CONCLUSION: There are many factors; however, it is worth addressing them because the canine sense of smell is one of the possible uses as a diagnostic method.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a widespread neurological disorder, growing increasingly common. However, the pathogenesis of the disease is often unclear and the evidence for the role of various risk factors is limited. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with migraine and to contribute towards a better understanding of this disease. METHODS: Data from 3,247 questionnaires were analyzed for associations between migraine and sex, age, BMI, degree of education, and air pollution, along with other factors such as contact with friends, physical condition, health, anxiety, and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted with an approximately equal distribution of the sample by age, gender and two analysed regions. Data were presented using basic descriptive statistics using the chi-square test. The model output was presented using a crude odds ratio (OR) and a fully adjusted OR. Three hundred and eight-six individuals (12%) suffered from migraine. RESULTS: In an adjusted model, the presented study found associations between the prevalence of migraine and sex, age, and level of education. Individuals with migraine statistically significantly more often suffered from depression, anxiety and other selected factors. However, the assumed significant association between the occurrence of migraine and pollution in the region has not been found.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: Lung carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. At present, unfortunately, there are no markers that would allow early identification of this tumor in the preclinical or early clinical stage. The use of sniffer dogs has been reported to show some promise in early diagnosis of this type of cancer Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the possibility of utilizing changes in the heart rate of sniffer dogs (which increases when finding a positive sample) in tumor detection. METHODS: This double-blinded pilot study included two sniffer dogs. A chest strap was fastened on the dog's chests for heart rate monitoring while they were examining samples and heart rate was recorded. Test parameters (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) were then calculated, evaluating performances based on (i) the dog's indications according to their training and (ii) the changes in their heart rates. RESULTS: Calculation according to the dog's indications revealed an overall sensitivity of 95.2% accompanied by a specificity of 81.8%, a PPV of 93.7%, and an NPV of 85.7%, respectively. These results were not significantly different from those evaluated by heart rate; heart rate monitoring was, however, burdened with a relatively high proportion of invalid experiments in which heart rate measurement failed. When the method of calculation was changed from rounds to individual samples, the test parameters further increased. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study confirmed the hypothesis that heart rate increases in trained sniffer dogs when encountering samples from tumor-positive patients but remains unchanged when only negative samples are present. The reliability of results based on heart rate increase is similar to that obtained by a dog's indications and, if the limitation represented by technical issues is overcome, it could serve as a valuable verification method.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: The noninvasive collection of saliva samples for DNA analyses is simple, and its potential for research and diagnostic purposes is great. However, DNA isolates from such samples are often of inferior quality to those from blood. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the robustness and sensitivity of the ddPCR instrument for genetic analyses from saliva samples of poor quality by comparing their results to those obtained using an established method from blood samples. METHODS: Blood and saliva were collected from 47 university students, which was followed by manual isolation of DNA and analysis on droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Results of analyses were supplemented with values of fractional abundances. RESULTS: ddPCR proved to be highly suitable for analysis of even low-quality saliva samples (concentrations as low as 0.79 ng/μL), especially when augmented by fractional abundance data. This combination yielded 100% agreement with results obtained from blood samples. CONCLUSION: This study verified the applicability of ddPCR as a sensitive and robust method of genetic diagnostic testing even from low-quality saliva isolates. This makes it potentially suitable for a wide range of applications and facilitates the performance of large epidemiological studies, even if sampling or sample processing is suboptimal.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the most often diagnosed tumours in the world with the highest mortality. A major problem and reason for the high mortality from lung cancer is its diagnosis in the late stages. The main goal of preventing lung cancer deaths is early detection in the early stages and accurate diagnosis, which must be followed by targeted treatment. Nevertheless, even top diagnostic techniques do not have the same accuracy and sensitivity as a dog's sense of smell. METHODS: The study aims to present the results of olfactometric detection of lung cancer using the smell of dogs in unblinded, single-blinded and double-blinded studies. 115 serum samples or breath from patients with lung cancer and 101 samples from healthy people were used for the training. The group consisted of women and men of Indo-European origin, mostly from the Moravian-Silesian region in Czech Republic. Two dogs were selected for the study. RESULTS: In the case of tumor detection in the form of unblinded tests, Bugs had a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 92%. Boolomo had a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 81%. For single-blinded tests, Bugs had a sensitivity of 71%. The sensitivity of Boolomo was set at 90%. After meeting the sensitivity limit of 70%, dogs were included in the double-blinded studies. The highest accuracy was set at 68% for Bugs, 83% for Boolomo. CONCLUSION: When a tumour is diagnosed in the late stages, it is a great burden on both the health and economic systems of the state. Unfortunately, there is still no suitable screening test to detect the tumour at an early stage, so any other method of detection seems desirable. Trained dogs are used in many fields, why not also in medicine and the diagnosis of tumours?
- MeSH
- čich MeSH
- dechové testy MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádory plic * diagnóza MeSH
- odoranty * MeSH
- psi MeSH
- senzitivita a specificita MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- psi MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- randomizované kontrolované studie MeSH
BACKGROUND: Thrombophilic mutations in genes for factor V Leiden and factor II prothrombin are among the most important risk factors for developing the thromboembolic disease (TED), along with the use of oral contraceptives (OCs) or smoking. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of risk factors in young women using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and, based on the results of this investigation, to perform a cost-benefit analysis of ddPCR-based screening in young women starting to take OCs compared to the treatment costs of patients who develop preventable TED in the Czech Republic. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, female university students filled in a questionnaire and provided a blood sample for DNA isolation and ddPCR analysis of both aforementioned genetic risk factors. The results, along with data from literature and web search, were used for cost-benefit analysis valid for the Czech Republic. RESULTS: Out of 148 participants, 30 (20%) were smokers and 49 (33%) took OCs. A mutation was confirmed in 6 women (4.1%) in the factor V gene and in 3 women (2%) in the factor II gene, respectively. A model calculation on a cohort of 50,000 women starting to use contraceptives in the Czech Republic every year showed that at maximum compliance, (i.e., non-use of OC and smoking cessation), screening could prevent 68 cases of TED over the course of the mean period of OC use (5.7 years). Economically, the costs of testing in this cohort (2.25 mil. USD) would be significantly lower than prevented treatment costs (16 mil. USD at maximum compliance); the cost-benefit break-even point would be at 14.1% compliance. CONCLUSION: The cost-benefit analysis based on our results indicates that screening for factor V Leiden and factor II prothrombin in young women before starting to use OCs would, in the conditions of the Czech Republic, likely be highly economically effective.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- MeSH
- dihydrouracildehydrogenasa (NAD+) farmakologie genetika účinky léků MeSH
- farmakogenetika MeSH
- glukuronosyltransferasa farmakologie genetika účinky léků MeSH
- jednonukleotidový polymorfismus genetika účinky léků MeSH
- klinické laboratorní techniky MeSH
- lékové interakce MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- methyltransferasy farmakologie genetika účinky léků MeSH
- polymorfismus genetický MeSH
- systém (enzymů) cytochromů P-450 genetika účinky léků MeSH
- warfarin MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
