Methods, kits, and active ingredients for diagnosing or treating arthritis or a degenerative disease of the skeletal system, or for selection of subjects for therapy. The methods for diagnosing arthritis involve the detection of an autoantibody, which is associated with arthritis, or excluding the presence of an autoantibody against collagen II. The methods for diagnosing a degenerative disease of the skeletal system, involve the detection of an autoantibody against thrombospondin-4 or COMP. The kits contain a detection agent for an autoantibody and can be used for diagnosing arthritis or a degenerative disease of the skeletal system. The active ingredient can be used for treating or preventing autoimmune-associated arthritis.

The invention provides seminal computational approaches utilizing data from non-rare cells to detect rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The invention is applicable at two distinct stages of CTC detection; the first being to make decisions about data collection parameters and the second being to make decisions during data reduction and analysis. Additionally, the invention utilizes both one and multi-dimensional parameterized data in a decision making process.

Implant related risk of revision not caused by an infection or metal on metal reaction can be addressed by the methods provided herein, including diagnosing implant related risk of revision, use of kits for such diagnostic purposes and compositions for use in the treatment of implant related risk of revision, in particular implant related risk of revision not caused by an infection or metal on metal reaction.

The present subject matter provides, inter alia, compositions, systems, kits, and methods for diagnosing and treating small vessel diseases (SVDs).

Methods of quantifying a N.sup.2-(1-carboxyethyl)-2′-deoxyguanosine (CEdG) levels in biological samples and comparing those levels to known normal levels can diagnose a number of metabolic disorders or complications associated therewith, including diabetes, its associated complications, and cancer. Methods can also determine whether therapies for disorders are effective by measuring CEdG levels before and after treatment. Measurement of CEdG levels is achieved by using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

This document provides methods and materials involved in assessing mammals with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), as well as methods and materials involved in assessing outcomes. For example, methods and materials for using the level of plasma CNP and the level of urinary CNP to determine whether or not a mammal is developing or likely to develop more severe ADHF, as well as methods and materials for using the level of plasma CNP and the level of urinary CNP to identify patients having an increased likelihood of experiencing a poor outcome are provided.

Disclosures herein are directed to methods and compositions for predicting high- and low-risk liver disease in patients. Based on the results achieved from the methods and compositions disclosed herein, liver disease patients can be classified into a prognostic risk group, which enables early diagnosis and prevention of HCC and other lethal complications. Methods and compositions disclosed herein substantially improve the poor prognosis of subjects having or at risk for one or more liver diseases.

The invention relates to methods, systems and kits for determining therapeutic effectiveness or toxicity of cancer-treating compounds that incorporate into or bind to DNA. In particular, the invention is directed to methods, systems and kits for predicting a patient's treatment outcome after administration of a microdose of therapeutic composition to the patient. The methods provides physicians with a diagnostic tool to segregate cancer patients into differential populations that have a higher or lower chance of responding to a particular therapeutic treatment.

This disclosure relates to uses of 5-aminovaleric acid betaine and compositions related thereto. In certain embodiments, this disclosure relates to diagnostic assays and methods of measuring and monitoring 5-aminovaleric acid betaine levels or the ratio 5-aminovaleric acid betaine to carnitine in a sample. In certain embodiments, this disclosure relates to methods of treating or preventing muscle wasting comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of 5-aminovaleric acid betaine, prodrug, or salt thereof

Methods and kits for predicting infusion reaction risk and antibody-mediated loss of response during intravenous PEGylated uricase therapy in gout patients is provided. Routine SUA monitoring can be used to identify patients receiving PEGylated uricase who may no longer benefit from treatment and who are at greater risk for infusion reactions.