Researchers Create a Protein Map of Human Spit

Ant writes "United States researchers have identified all 1,116 unique proteins found in human saliva glands. It was a discovery they said on Tuesday that could usher in a wave of convenient, spit-based diagnostic tests that could be done without the need for a single drop of blood. As many as 20 percent of the proteins found in saliva are also found in blood, said Fred Hagen, a researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York who worked on the study."

Re:Yes...

[Eggplant62]

Funny thing is, companies like Genova Diagnostics of North Carolina [gdx.net] have been doing saliva hormone testing for several years now and have touted it as the only way to get true levels of estradiol, testosterone, cortisol, progesterone, DHEA and others. A doctor that I worked for 3-4 years ago to set up a fellowship in functional medicine was big into saliva testing and hormone balancing based on these saliva tests, and she's still doing some good work today. I know she's worked with lots of patients, mostly premenopausal and menopausal women, and has helped them with maladies that go along with menopause like headaches, osteoporosis, and all the uncomfortable changes that go along with the big change in life. Biggest problem she's had is getting the mainstream insurance companies to accept her work and the work of others that have gone toward supporting the use of saliva hormone testing.

Re:Yes...

[Carnivore]

You're using the term "pre-menupausal" in a very specific way, like pre-eclampsia. You mean "in the stages immediately preceding menopause", but to someone not in the field, pre-menupausal can appear to indicate the stage of life before menopause starts--any female who hasn't gone through menopause.

I don't know a better term for it, but you can see how some people could get confused especially if they're pre-caffeineated.