Diagnostik Compass

Compact, practical, relevant

In our Diagnostics Compass we regularly present diagnostic services from our specialist areas—tailored specifically for our clients and anyone interested in modern laboratory diagnostics. These short articles convey relevant expertise, highlight developments relevant to practice, diagnostic features, and information on submitting samples to Labor Berlin.

Urinary stone analysis

The aim of urinary stone analysis is to identify all crystalline components of a stone. Only 33% of all urinary stones are composed of a single type of mineral (monomineralic); the majority are mixed stones consisting of two or three components.

Malaria

Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide and poses a significant global health problem. In Germany, there are approximately 600 to 700 new cases each year, making the disease rare but serious in this country. This also increases the organizational and diagnostic demands on laboratories.

Hemoglobinopathies

Hemoglobinopathies are among the most common genetic disorders worldwide and therefore represent a significant global health problem. These disorders are primarily found in the Mediterranean region, Asia, and Africa. In Germany, too, hemoglobinopathies have become a clinical specialty with growing diagnostic significance.

Abuse substances from saliva

Drug screening from saliva is becoming increasingly important as a modern alternative to traditional sample materials such as urine and blood. Saliva contains both medications and drugs as well as their metabolites, which enter the oral cavity via saliva secretion or diffusion from the bloodstream. This enables the detection of current or recent substance exposure.

Food intolerances

For many people, suspected food intolerances represent a considerable burden in their everyday lives. Symptoms such as gastrointestinal complaints, skin reactions, headaches, or even chronic fatigue are often associated with diet. In this context, the diagnostic spectrum at Labor Berlin offers valuable support in specifically identifying various causes and forms of food intolerances and distinguishing them from allergies or other diseases.

West Nile Virus

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Many people often associate infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes only with tropical destinations. However, local outbreaks of such pathogens have also occurred in southern Europe in recent years. Now these viruses are also gaining importance in Berlin, especially the West Nile virus (WNV), which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Human Pathogenic Coronaviruses

Seven coronaviruses (CoV) that infect humans and mainly cause respiratory diseases are known to date. The best known of these is SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in humans in 2019 and triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, we take a look at the other six human coronaviruses.

p-Tau217: An innovative blood biomarker for Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Current research is focused on developing reliable blood biomarkers that enable early and specific diagnosis. Particularly promising is the phosphorylated tau protein at threonine 217 (p-Tau217), which has a high specificity for Alzheimer’s pathology and opens up new perspectives for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy monitoring.

Neurofilament light chain – an easily detectable biomarker for nerve cell damage in serum

Many neurological diseases develop slowly and continuously over many years, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and all forms of dementia, or in episodes, such as most forms of multiple sclerosis and certain polyneuropathies. These disease courses make early diagnosis difficult and can significantly delay recommended early treatment. The protein neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a nerve cell-specific, primarily axon-localized structural protein from the neurofilament group and is released when nerve cells are damaged involving the axon. NfL has been intensively studied as a biomarker, prognostic marker, and progression parameter for various neurological diseases.

Molecular genetic diagnosis of cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias

Heart disease can be either genetic or acquired. If left untreated, hereditary heart disease can lead to sudden cardiac death. In the context of molecular genetic diagnostics of cardiological diseases, a fundamental distinction is made between structural changes in the heart muscle (cardiomyopathies) and arrhythmias caused by ion channel defects (known as channelopathies).

Genetic diagnostics for primary ciliary dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetic disorder caused by a dysfunction of the motile cilia. These cilia play a crucial role in mucociliary clearance, particularly in the respiratory epithelium, i.e., the lining of the airways. A defect in this clearance system typically leads to chronic inflammation of the airways, sinus problems, and the development of irreversible bronchiectasis. Diagnosing PCD is complex and requires a multimodal approach.

Forensic secretion determination – traditional methods and new research approaches

In forensic trace analysis, the clear identification of bodily secretions such as blood, saliva, semen, and vaginal fluid is crucial in order to reconstruct the course of events as reliably as possible. Forensic Genetics Berlin offers two different testing methods for this purpose.

Ancestry analysis – The right to know your own ancestry

The right to know your own biological ancestry is part of your general personal rights. Clarification can be sought for private reasons, through official channels, or in court. At our accredited specialist laboratory for forensic genetics at Labor Berlin, biological ancestry is examined using DNA analysis.

Antibiotic susceptibility testing

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is a laboratory procedure that determines how effective antibiotics are against certain bacteria or fungi. To determine whether an antibiotic is effective against a particular bacterium, methods are used to show how much the antibiotic inhibits the growth of the bacteria. The most important indicator here is the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) – the smallest amount of antibiotic that stops growth.

Diagnostik Compass

First-hand expertise

Laboratory Medicine & Toxicology

Allergy Diagnostics

Virology

Immunology

Human Genetics

Forensic Genetics

Mikrobiologie & Hygiene

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