WASHINGTON — Stories about professional and Olympic athletes trying to beat tests for banned anabolics represent only the tip of the iceberg where drug test cheating is concerned, as any law enforcement officer will tell you, but doctors who prescribe pain relievers based more or less loosely on opium, known as opioid analgesics, face a similar dilemma. (Medical Device Daily)

WASHINGTON — This year's annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington) demonstrates that the clinical lab professional is no more wedded to the tried and true than any other healthcare professional. One of Sunday's presenters discussed several sources of inaccuracy in cholesterol measurements, which he blamed on the reagents used in assays that are commonly employed to determine a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease. Another presenter chipped away at the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in prediction of heart disease and stroke risk by presenting data in support of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) as a superior biomarker. (Diagnostics & Imaging Week)

WASHINGTON – Pharmacogenomic testing for sensitivity to the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) looks like a great idea to FDA (Medical Device Daily, Aug. 20, 2007), but that might not be the majority view among members of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington) if an informal and utterly unscientific poll conducted on Monday is any indication. (Medical Device Daily)

WASHINGTON – This year's annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington) demonstrates that the clinical lab professional is no more wedded to the tried and true than any other healthcare professional. One of Sunday's presenters discussed several sources of inaccuracy in cholesterol measurements, which he blamed on the reagents used in assays that are commonly employed to determine a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease. (Medical Device Daily)