Over 4,000 Blood Components Listed

After three long years of analysis, researchers, led by biochemist David Wishart at the University of Alberta, have composed a list of over 4,000 known compounds in human blood. This is an enormous increase from the previously believed amount. The researchers have found 4,229 blood chemicals that will enable doctors to be able to potentially look at and diagnose and treat health problems. The researchers have found all of the normal values of detectable chemicals in the blood enabling doctors to quickly use these measurements as a reference point for monitoring a patient’s current and possibly future health. It is known that the first thing to change when a patient is developing a dangerous condition is their blood chemistry. Wishart has created a database where doctors as well as the public can access the expanded list of blood chemicals as well as hundreds of blood-research projects done throughout the world. As hospitals slowly begin to adapt new search protocols and gain new equipment, doctors will be able to use the database to “link a specific abnormality in hundreds of different blood chemicals with a patient’s specific medical problem”.

I found this article interesting because I believe that the new blood chemicals will lead to earlier detection of diseases including high cholesterol as well perhaps the prevention of disease. I thought it was amazing that so few of the bloods chemicals had been identified until now. Hopefully the new database will be used to the fullest extent and patients will receive more accurate diagnosis.

Source:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224145609.htm