A method for determining the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in a mammal following cardiac surgery is provided. The method comprises determining the sample value of IL-6 or hFABP concentration, or the ratio of IL-6 to IL-10, in a biological sample from the mammal, either prior to cardiac surgery or within 6 hours following surgery; comparing the sample value to a corresponding reference value; and determining that the mammal is at risk of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery if the sample value is greater than the corresponding reference value.

Antibiotics (Abx) are the world's most misused drugs. Antibiotics misuse occurs when the drug is administered in case of a non-bacterial infection (such as a viral infection) for which it is ineffective. Overall, it is estimated that 40-70% of the worldwide Abx courses are mis-prescribed. The financial and health consequences of Abx over-prescription include the direct cost of the drugs, as well as the indirect costs of their side effects, which are estimated at >$15 billion annually. Furthermore, over-prescription directly causes the emergence of Abx-resistant strains of bacteria, which are recognized as one of the major threats to public health today. This generates an immediate need for reliable diagnostics to assist physicians in correct Abx prescription, especially at the point-of-care (POC) where most Abx are prescribed. Accordingly, some aspects of the present invention provide methods using biomarkers for rapidly detecting the source of infection and administrating the appropriate treatment.

Disclosed herein are methods of diagnosing and treating infectious disease characterized by a pathology that involves hemorrhaging or pathological vascular leakage.

The present invention concerns markers of multiple sclerosis, their use, and treatment with IL-17 antagonists, including IL-17 antibodies, of subjects with increased levels of such markers.

Disclosed is a method for evaluating the ability of a chemical substance or a chemical composition to prevent muscle fatigue and damage induced by physical exertion in humans; edible composition including at least one salt of a multivalent metal cation, at least one compound selected between vitamin E or vitamin E acetate, at least one edible polyphenol compound selected from compounds of the flavonol family, compounds of the anthocyanin family, compounds of the phenolic acid family and compounds of the flavonol family and/or the glucosylated derivatives thereof, in which the molar ratio/is of at least 0.50 and not more than 2.00; its use as a food supplement or for preparing a food supplement composition or as a drug for preventing muscle fatigue and/or muscle damage induced by physical exertion, in a method for the treatment of the human body by therapy.

Diagnostic screening tests that can be used to identify if a patient is a good candidates for an implantable vagus nerve stimulation device. One or more analyte, such as a cytokine or inflammatory molecule, can be measured from a blood sample taken prior to implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator to determine the patient's responsiveness to VNS for treatment of an inflammatory disorder.

Described is an assay for diagnosing an infection such as peritonitis in a subject. The assay includes a binding molecule, such as an antibody that specifically binds to an inflammatory marker in a sample from the subject, and a second binding molecule that binds to a marker indicative of a pathogen in the sample. For diagnosing peritonitis in a subject, the pathogen will be at least one bacterium and/or fungus. Typically, the assay will be incorporated into a lateral flow device and may include a binding molecule that specifically binds to an antigen indicative of the presence of a specific pathogen species. The described assay(s) may further include filter(s), enriching antigen(s), and buffer(s). Also described are methods of diagnosing and treating peritonitis in a subject who is a peritoneal dialysis patient that include utilizing the herein described assay(s) or assay kit(s) to analyze the subject's peritoneal dialysis effluent.

A method for assessing the ability of a chemical substance or of a chemical composition to prevent or to slow the appearance of signs of aging of the human skin or of the lips or even to eliminate the signs; the method including: —a step a) of bringing the chemical substance or the chemical composition into contact with fibroblast cells of the “young” human dermis taken from a culture medium at the passage R6; —a step b) of bringing senescent cells of fibroblasts of the human dermis into contact with the cells of “young” fibroblasts from step a); and—a step c) of measuring the senescence input of the cells of “young” fibroblasts and of comparing it with a reference value.

Binding members, e.g. human antibody molecules, which bind interleukin-6 (IL-6) and neutralise its biological effects. Use of binding members for IL-6 in medical treatment e.g. for treating inflammatory diseases and tumours associated with IL-6.

The present invention is directed to a method of identifying a patient having heart failure as likely to respond to a therapy comprising a statin. The method is based on measuring the level of at least one marker selected from GDF-15 (Growth Differentiation Factor 15), Urea, SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin), Uric acid, PLGF (Placental Growth Factor), IL-6 (Interleukin-6), Transferrin, a cardiac Troponin, sFlt-1 (Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1), Prealbumin, Ferritin, Osteopontin, sST2 (soluble ST2), and hsCRP (high sensitivity C-reactive protein) in a sample from a patient. Further envisaged is a method of predicting the risk of a patient to suffer from death or hospitalization, wherein said patient has heart failure and undergoes a therapy comprising a statin. The method is also based on the measurement of the level of at least one of the aforementioned markers.