Investigational Study May Help Researchers Develop Test that Predicts Risk of Imminent Heart Attacks

RARITAN, N.J., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Veridex, LLC today announced the publication of a new, investigational study published this week in Science Translational Medicine that lays the foundation for research that may potentially result in a blood test to determine imminent risk of heart attack within high-risk populations.  The study, "Characterization of Circulating Endothelial Cells in Acute Myocardial Infarction," was led by Eric J. Topol, M.D., director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, in collaboration with researchers at Veridex and other hospitals in Southern California.

The study used the Veridex CellSearch® technology to capture circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in 50 myocardial infarction (MI) patients.  These cells were further interrogated for protein markers to confirm their endothelial origin by the team at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc.  It was discovered that MI patients had more than 400 percent more CECs compared to blood samples obtained from the control group of 22 healthy volunteers.  Importantly, CECs in the MI patient group had distinct physical abnormalities, such as cell shape and an increased likelihood of having multiple nuclei. 

"One person dies every minute as a result of a heart attack here in the U.S.," said Topol.  "This initial research could lay the groundwork for a test to identify which individuals are at particular risk of an imminent heart attack."

"Our focus is on the CECs," noted Mark C. Connelly, Ph.D., Director, Cellular Research, Veridex and co-author of the study.  "The difference in the shape and high incidence of multiple nuclei in these cells suggest they may possess a unique gene expression profile.  The next phase of our research will test this hypothesis and, if it is true, attempt to determine its suitability to detect early warning signs such as subclinical plaque rupture in high-risk patients."

About Veridex, LLC
Veridex, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company, is an organization dedicated to providing physicians with high-value diagnostic products. Veridex's Clinical Research Solutions provide tools and services that may be used for the selection, identification and enumeration of targeted rare cells in peripheral blood for the identification of biomarkers, aiding scientists in their search for new, targeted therapies. This information is intended for biopharmaceutical researchers and scientists.  The products discussed are for research use only and not for diagnostic procedures.  For more information, visit www.veridex.com.

SOURCE Veridex, LLC