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Researchers from Quest Diagnostics and collaborators have found that changes in levels of the cardiovascular risk marker free myeloperoxidase (MPO) appear correlated with an individual's overall mortality risk. The finding, described in a study published last month in PLOS One, indicate that longitudinal measurement of MPO could help physicians assess patients' mortality risk and response to interventions.

Quest Diagnostics has partnered with Envision Sciences to commercially launch a novel prostate cancer biomarker test to help in identifying patients with more aggressive forms of the disease, Quest Diagnostics and the University of South Australia announced in separate news releases.1,2"Our goal for this innovative prostate biomarker test is to improve the accuracy of grading prostate cancer biopsies.

Made by New Jersey–based Quest Diagnostics, the $399 test can be purchased online by anyone age 18 and older in most US states, who then must go to a Quest clinic for a blood draw. The test measures blood levels of a protein called amyloid beta. As a person ages, amyloid beta tends to accumulate in the brain and can eventually form plaques, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. It’s thought that these clumps build up many years before memory loss and confusion appear.

For decades, employers have relied on workplace drug testing as a risk mitigation tool to effectively deter drug use and help prevent costly incidents. However, with cannabis legalization expanding, so is its use and acceptance. The connection between increasing cannabis availability and increased use of cannabis at work creates significant risks and costs for employers. So, why isn’t it possible to determine impairment from cannabis yet? “The main point many people fail to realize is that alcohol had decades, literally decades, of study to get to an impairment standard,” toxicology and workforce drug testing expert Barry Sample, of Quest Diagnostics, explains.

Quest Diagnostics launched on July 31 a direct-to-consumer blood test to detect abnormal levels of beta-amyloidTrusted Source, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease that can show up in the brain years before symptoms arise. The first-of-its-kind test, called AD-Detect, will cost $399, plus a $13 physician service fee. The technology is the same as the AD-Detect Amyloid Beta 42/40 Ratio blood test launched by the company in early 2022, which is available with a doctor’s order.