Ignite Biomedical Inc. and Liquid Biosciences have announced the discovery of biomarkers to diagnose substance use disorder (SUD). The set of biomarkers includes some that have not previously been associated with addiction and spans all 6 SUDs (opioid, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use disorders).

Prostate cancer is still one of the main causes of cancer death among men; while prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is done for screening, there are recommendations against its use due to its nonspecific and suboptimal results. There is thus an urgent need for new biomarkers that are more accurate in the detection of prostate cancer.

Curently the only available blood test to tell which women are at risk of postpartum depression (PPD) is the one that confirms their pregnancy – and a one in seven chance of developing the condition which can have long-term implications for both mother and child. Research out of the University of Virginia and Weill Cornell Medicine could soon change that by identifying biomarkers in the third trimester of pregnancy that indicate which women have the greatest risk of developing PPD.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and affiliated organizations have published preclinical data for [18F]CNL-02, a positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand targeting mitochondrial complex I (MC-I) that is being developed for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Fourteen global pharma companies are getting together to conduct the largest proteomics study to date, analyzing 600,000 blood samples held in the UK Biobank to assess the levels of 5,400 different proteins.

Work at Beijing Normal University and affiliated organizations has led to the discovery and preclinical characterization of a novel tau-PET radiotracer for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).