Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein Assay Launched

Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) is a sensitive and specific biomarker of myocardial ischemia that can used for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), via a new CE-marked laboratory assay. The H-FABP assay is ready to be implemented into routine clinical practice, in combination with troponin.

H-FABP is a 15-kDa cytoplasmic protein that is involved in the intracellular uptake and buffering of free fatty acids in the myocardium. It is released within 30 minutes of an ischemic episode and is 20 times more cardiac specific than myoglobin.

Randox (Crumlin, United Kingdom) announced the worldwide launch of the quantitative, automated laboratory assay for H-FABP. Studies have shown that H-FABP has highly significant and additive diagnostic value, especially during the early hours following ACS symptom onset. Such results are particularly valuable, as this has traditionally been a "troponin-blind" period for hospital emergency departments and numerous patients are conservatively admitted for further observation, in many cases, unnecessarily.

The results of one recently completed trial from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom) were presented at the IFCC EuroMedLab conference in Berlin on May 17, 2011. The results of the trial suggest that utilizing a combination hsTnT, H-FABP, and ECG on admission, could act as a highly accurate test to rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

CEO of Randox Laboratories, Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, believes that the release of this new laboratory-based assay represents a new era in the clinical use of acute cardiac biomarkers. He explained, "The new Randox H-FABP assay is a simple and rapid test that can be performed on a wide range of clinical chemistry analyzers, without the need for specialist software, training, or equipment. We believe it represents a wonderful opportunity to improve the management of patients with suspected ACS and enable a more effective utilization of healthcare resources."

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Randox
University of Manchester