May 30, 2007 -- The Channel Group, LLC announced today that it has formed Lesanne Life Sciences, LLC, a medical diagnostic company that is developing a simple blood test to detect the occurrence of a stroke.
Lesanne's diagnostic test is able to detect low levels of a patented protein biomarker that is present only in the brain and related central nervous system tissue of healthy individuals.
In a pilot clinical trial, the biomarker was present in blood samples obtained from stroke patients, but was not found in control patients. Pre-clinical experiments showed that the biomarker was detectable readily within 15 minutes of induction of a stroke in animal models.
These findings imply that it might be possible for the first time for emergency personnel and physicians to confirm the occurrence of stroke, even before a patient is subjected to imaging. The company is developing both a qualitative blood test to be used in emergency settings for diagnosing a stroke and a quantitative blood test to be used in the hospital to monitor recovery from a stroke.
According to The New York Times, "Many strokes that could be successfully treated are not. Emergency room doctors ... are uncomfortable deciding whether the patient is really having a stroke." Furthermore, "Many hospitals say they cannot afford to have neurologists on call to diagnose strokes, and cannot afford to have M.R.I. scanners, the most accurate way to diagnose strokes, for the emergency room."
Lesanne's stroke diagnostic is being developed to meet the need for a fast, accurate, and easy to administer test for stroke. The company also plans to extend the use of its biomarker as a diagnostic for neurological ischemia associated with traumatic brain injury and various medical procedures, including coronary artery bypass graft surgery, cardiac surgery, and coronary angiography and angioplasty.
For more information visit www.TheChannelGroup.com