New possibilities of application of DSC as a new clinical diagnostic method

Abstract

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is the most often used method in thermal analysis. Recently, there is growing clinical use for it. With this method, we can measure the effects of drugs and we can quantify and characterize changes in different organs or parts of body. This way it is possible to conclude short- and long-term effects in a predictive way. Our team were examined the effects of cyclophosphamide on guinea pigs equivalent to human protocol in experimental conditions. Besides of its beneficial effects, cyclophosphamides may have got severe life-threatening side effects and complications because of the actual plasma level and high cumulative dosage. In the first step of our experiment, we examined the effects of cyclophosphamide on guinea pigs’ nerve–muscle complex with oncological indication by using a dosage protocol based on body mass. As a second step with the same method and cyclophosphamide dosage, we examined its effect on the heart left ventricle. The third step was in the further clinical application experiment with unchanged parameters on blood plasma as well as blood cells too, exhibiting dosage-dependent changes on plasma and blood cells. Alterations in different materials caused by using different cyclophosphamide dosage and not uniform treatment length produced well correlated and clearly detected changes with DSC. Based on our results, we found detectable and partway quantified alterations with DSC on blood plasma components; therefore, it can be used in clinical routine because it is relatively simple and cheap. In long-term treatments, incidental severe results and side effects caused by cumulative dose may become also predictive with this method. All these show a new promising area in DSC usage which passed out of mind in the last 10 years.