Low serum trypsin levels predict deep pancreatic cannulation failure during ERCP in patients with symptomatic obstructive chronic pancreatitis

Abstract

Advances in cell and molecular biology studies have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of many different diseases. Cell and molecular diagnostics (CMD) have become an essential part of investigations required in providing optimal care and has become an important tool for the health care providers for better treatment. CMD gives insights into the pathogenesis and prognosis of various diseases. Rapid technological advances have helped to increase the speed and performance of various molecular assays thereby reducing turnaround time, in turn translating to providing better clinical services. With the increase in CMD applications to clinical services, entire world has seen a sudden spurt of cellular and molecular labs. However, this has highlighted an acute shortage of trained laboratory personnel who can carry out cellular or molecular assays in a diagnostic mode. Understanding the mechanisms of disease at the molecular and genetic levels can now be translated into diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications in modern medicine. Molecules at abnormal levels (quantitative or qualitative) provide not only a signature for the presence of a disease, but also the indication for a drug targeting the specific abnormal function. Concurrently, the role of CMD has expanded from mere study observations to constantly translating new discoveries and novel technologies into useful clinical tests that provide a molecular fingerprint of diseases and that are predictive of the response. In the introductory chapter we will cover the importance of biological sample collection from different methods; cell-based diagnostic methods, cellular pathway diagnostic targets, and molecular-based methods.