Assay Expands Anemia Test Menu

A test for intrinsic factor antibodies (Ab) is designed to aid the diagnosis of pernicious anemia.

This new assay gives laboratories the ability to produce rapid, accurate results for the differential diagnosis of pernicious anemia, which is characterized by megaloblastic anemia, neuropathy, and gastritis with intrinsic factor autoantibodies. The disease can affect the general population but is more prevalent in elderly people. Pernicious anemia and the presence of intrinsic factor antibodies are linked to autoimmune disease states, such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Grave's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, hypoparathyroidism, and Lambert-Eaton syndrome.

The new test can be performed on serum or heparinized plasma and requires a sample volume of 55 ìl. The liquid, ready-to-use reagent features total imprecision of less than 8% of the coefficient of variation (CV) across the assay range. The time to first result is less than 35 minutes. Intrinsic factor is a natural substance present in the stomach and is essential to the digestion of vitamin B12; being without it leads to pernicious anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency. The new test is the product of Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, CA, USA).




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