Oasis Diagnostics (United States)

Abstract BackgroundMultimodal interventions targeting modifiable disease‐associated risk factors may support large‐scale population brain health. The landmark Finnish‐Geriatric‐Intervention‐Study‐to‐Prevent‐Cognitive‐Impairment‐and‐Disability(FINGER) demonstrated improvements in cognition and health outcomes 2‐years post‐intervention. Researchers now seek to adapt and implement this approach internationally, within the World‐Wide FINGERS (WW‐FINGERS) network.Dementia prevalence in Africa is rising; however, scant research examines the impact of lifestyle factor changes on dementia risk in African populations. Furthermore, no interventional studies have assessed the feasibility or efficacy of culturally sensitive risk‐reduction approaches. Overcoming these gaps, our multi‐national collaboration with established rural and urban cohorts in Kenya and Nigeria in the first instance will leverage expertise from WW‐FINGERS, Global‐Brain‐Health‐Institute (GBHI), Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) and Global‐Dementia‐Prevention‐Program (GloDePP) partners.MethodsThe AFRICA‐FINGERS study will recruit older adults at risk of cognitive impairment based on a well‐validated dementia risk score. The adapted interventions comprise physical/social activity, healthy diet, cognitive stimulation and vascular risk monitoring. Initially, we externally validated six existing dementia risk scores using data from the Ibadan cohort of the Indianapolis‐Ibadan‐Dementia study (1992‐2022, n = 4353). We examined the association between common dementia risk factors, validated risk scores and time to incident dementia or cognitive impairment. Sex‐specific interactions were further investigated.Results 7% of the cohort developed dementia (mean±SD follow‐up: 7±4 years). Of the risk factors studied, older age (HR:1.09, 95%CI:1.07‐1.10), higher systolic blood pressure (HR:1.01, 95%CI:1.00‐1.02), history of stroke (HR:3.06, 95%CI:1.44‐6.48), smoking (HR:1.41, 95%CI:1.10‐1.99) and lower social engagement (HR:4.11, 95%CI: 1.90‐8.89) were associated with higher dementia risk; while being male (HR:0.49, 95%CI: 0.36 ‐ 0.67) was associated with lower risk. The best predictive models were lifestyle and vascular‐based dementia risk scores that included ethnicity. Sex‐specific diagnostic accuracy for predicting incident dementia and cognitive impairment will be presented.ConclusionsOur preliminary independent validation of Western‐derived dementia risk scores in a rural Nigeria cohort provides a cursory estimation of the proportion of elders who may meet the planned study’s eligibility criteria in terms of at‐risk‐for‐dementia status. The next step will explore facilitators/barriers to adherence and sustainability of the intervention in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, Congo and DRC via stakeholder focus‐groups, to inform development of the intervention protocol.

The potential of using saliva as a diagnostic fluid is well documented. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and quantity of saliva DNA of alcoholic and non-alcoholic participants using three saliva collection methods; DNA-SalTM (Oasis Diagnostics, USA), Oragene-DNA (DNA Genotek Inc, Ontario, Canada) and whole saliva collection method. Saliva DNA of non-alcoholic (n=30) and alcoholic participants (n=10) age between 25 and 35 years was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively using spectrophotometry. Saliva DNA quantity was the highest for all participants when using the DNA-Sal TM saliva collection kit (p<0.05). The use of a mechanical scraper provided only in the DNA-Sal TM kit may have contributed to the highest DNA yield for all participants. The quantity of saliva DNA when assessed using spectrophotometer was found to be significantly lower (p<0.05) for the alcoholic (16±3.57 ng/μL) than non-alcoholic participants (19.92±6.18 ng/μL). To determine the integrity of the DNA samples, PCR amplification of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase gene, ADH1B was carried out and the PCR was found to be successful. For all participants, the DNA quality of the saliva collected using the three saliva collection methods was found to be in the acceptable range considered as pure DNA. The DNA quality and quantity of saliva collected from the three saliva collection methods were considered suitable for research purposes.

Saliva is an emerging biofluid with a significant number of applications in use across research and clinical settings. The present paper explores the reasons why saliva has grown in popularity in recent years, balancing both the potential strengths and weaknesses of this biofluid. Focusing on reasons why saliva is different from other common biological fluids such as blood, urine, or tears, we review how saliva is easily obtained, with minimal risk to the donor, and reduced costs for collection, transportation, and analysis. We then move on to a brief review of the history and progress in rapid salivary testing, again reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of rapid immunoassays (e.g., lateral flow immunoassay) compared to more traditional immunoassays. We consider the potential for saliva as an alternative biofluid in a setting where rapid results are important. We focus the review on salivary tests for small molecule biomarkers using cortisol as an example. Such salivary tests can be applied readily in a variety of settings and for specific measurement purposes, providing researchers and clinicians with opportunities to assess biomarkers in real time with lower transportation, collection, and analysis costs, faster turnaround time, and minimal training requirements. We conclude with a note of cautious optimism that the field will soon gain the ability to collect and analyze salivary specimens at any location and return viable results within minutes.

Saliva has been used as a specimen for diagnostics purposes for many years, but it has only been in the last 10 years that a number of new tools have been developed that promise to greatly increase the use of oral specimens for broad-based diagnosis and potentially screening applications. This article focuses on tools that are commercially viable or can play a role in whole saliva collection and future testing for critical diseases.