The biochemical method is the main method in biochemistry from the main methods for diagnosing various diseases that cause metabolic disorders. It is this analysis method that will be discussed in this article.
Diagnostic Objects
The objects of biochemical analysis diagnostics are:
- blood;
- urine;
- sweat and other body fluids;
- tissue;
- cells.
The biochemical method of research allows you to determine the activity of enzymes, the content of metabolic products in various biological fluids, as well as identify metabolic disorders that are caused by a hereditary factor.
History
The biochemical method was discovered by the English physician A. Garrod at the beginning of the twentieth century. He studied alkaptonuria, and during the study he found that congenital metabolism or metabolic disease can be determined by the absence of specific enzymes.
Various hereditary diseases are caused by mutations in genes that change the structure and rate of protein synthesis in the body. In this case, carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism are disrupted.
Main
For the purpose of clinical diagnostics, the chemical composition of biological materials and tissues is studied, since pathology may cause changes in concentration, lack of components, or vice versa the appearance of any other component. Biochemical analysis determines the amount of certain substances, hormonal balance, enzymes.
Molecules, proteins, nucleic acids and other substances that are part of a living organism are studied.
results
The result of the biochemical research method can be divided into qualitative (detected or not detected) and quantitative (what is the content of a substance in the biomaterial).
In a qualitative research method, the properties characteristic of the substance used are used, which appear under certain chemical influences (when heated, with the addition of reagents).
A direct quantitative research method is determined on the basis of the same principle, but first the detection of a substance is determined, and then its concentration is measured.
Hormones, mediators are contained in the body in very small quantities, so their content is measured using biological test objects (for example, a single organ or a whole experimental animal). This increases the sensitivity and specificity of research.
Historical evolution
The biochemical method is being improved to obtain the most accurate result and information about the state of metabolic processes in the body, metabolic processes in certain organs and cells. Recently, biological diagnostic methods have been combined with other research methods, such as immune, histological, cytological and others. To use a more complex method or methods, special equipment is usually used.
There is another direction of the biochemical method, which is not caused by the request for clinical diagnosis. With the help of the development and application of a quick and maximally simplified method, which can allow for several minutes to determine the assessment of the required biochemical parameters.
Nowadays, laboratories are equipped with the latest advanced equipment and mechanical and automatic systems and devices (analyzers) that allow you to quickly and accurately determine the desired indicator.
Biochemical method of study: methods
The measurement of a substance in biological fluids and their determination is carried out in many different ways. For example, to determine such an indicator as cholesterol esterase, you can hundreds of options for biochemical research methods. The choice of a specific methodology largely depends on the nature of the studied biological fluids.
The biochemical method of research is used to determine a single substance or indicator both once and in dynamics. This indicator is checked at a certain time of day, under a certain load, during the disease, when taking any drugs.
Method Features
Features of the biochemical method:
- minimum amount of biomaterial used;
- analysis execution speed;
- possible repeated use of this method;
- accuracy;
- the biochemical method can be used in the process of the disease;
- taking drugs does not affect the result of the study.
Biochemical methods of genetics
In genetics, the cytogenetic research method is most often used. It allows you to study in detail the chromosomal structures and their karyotype. Using this method, it is possible to identify hereditary and monogenic diseases that are associated with mutations and polymorphisms of genes and their structures.
The biochemical method of genetics is now widely used in order to find new forms of mutant alleles in DNA. Using this method, more than 1000 variants of metabolic diseases were identified and described. Most of the diseases described are diseases that are associated with defects in enzymes and other structural proteins.
Diagnostics of metabolic disorders by biochemical methods is carried out in two stages.
First stage:
- a selection of suspected cases is being conducted.
Second phase:
- the diagnosis of the disease is being specified with a more accurate and complex technique.
In the prenatal period, newborns are diagnosed with hereditary diseases using the biochemical method of research, which allows timely detection of pathology and timely treatment.
Method Types
The biochemical method of genetics can have many types. All of them are divided into two groups:
- Biochemical methods, which are based on the identification of certain biochemical products. This is due to changes in the actions of various alleles.
- A method that is based on directly identifying altered nucleic acids and proteins using gel electrophoresis in combination with other methods, such as blot hybridization, autoradiography.
The biochemical method helps to identify heterozygous carriers of various diseases. Mutational processes in the human body lead to the appearance of alleles and to chromosomal rearrangements, which adversely affect human health.
Also, biochemical diagnostic methods make it possible to identify various polymorphisms and gene mutations. Improvement of the biochemical method and biochemical diagnosis in our time helps to identify and confirm a large number of various metabolic disorders of the body.
The article examined the biochemical method of analysis.