Salivary diagnostics poised for broadened applications
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Posted May 23, 2006 |
By Craig Palmer Washington—Saliva research is on the verge of paying huge dividends to the health of the American people, a dental researcher told the U.S. Senate in testimony on the biomedical research budget.
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Special hearing: Dr. Fox (right) provides testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies May 19. At left is Richard M. Knapp, Ph.D., executive vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
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"Imagine a future in which a saliva sample is used for quick, painless and less expensive diagnostic tests, monitoring for many systemic health conditions and exposure to chemical and biological agents," said Dr. Philip C. Fox, who testified on behalf of the American Association for Dental Research and the American Dental Education Association. He is director of clinical research, Department of Oral Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center.
Testifying at a May 19 hearing on funding for the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Fox said saliva is already used to rapidly diagnose HIV and soon will be widely available for detecting oral cancer. Researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research have shown that molecular signals in saliva can be amplified and used to reliably confirm the presence of disease, heralding the advent of new tests allowing for earlier diagnoses than currently possible, he testified.
After years of research, saliva is poised for use as a diagnostic fluid for oral and systemic conditions, allowing for development of new, rapid and non-invasive saliva-based diagnostic tests, rather than the blood or urine sample procedures in current use, the AADR said. Dr. Fox testified at a special hearing on NIH funding called by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who chairs a Senate appropriations subcommittee on health and human services.
Congress is drafting a budget for the National Institutes of Health for fiscal year 2007, which begins Oct. 1.
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