Methods for detecting a mycobacterial infection in a patient are disclosed. These methods include the step of detecting lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and/or derivatives thereof in a biological sample from the patient. Methods for diagnosing disease, including nontuberculous mycobacterial infection (NTM), and kits for the described methods are also provided.

The present invention relates to methods of detecting differentially expressed protein expression indicative of COPD in a test sample. The detection of circulating levels of proteins within an identified COPD biomarker signature can aid in COPD diagnosis and disease monitoring, as well as in the prediction of responses to therapeutics. Evaluation of the biomarker signatures disclosed, or a subset of biomarkers thereof, provides a level of discrimination not found with individual markers.

A method of treating an asthmatic subject is provided. The method includes determining serum level of serum amyloid A (SAA) in the subject; comparing the serum level with a pre-determined threshold; and administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a COX-2 inhibitor if the serum level is greater than or equal to the threshold.

This disclosure concerns an exhaled breath collection device (1000) comprising a sensor unit (100) configured to measure a biomarker in exhaled breath, a cooling device configured to reduce a temperature of exhaled breath, a mouthpiece (300) configured to direct exhaled breath towards the cooling device, and a temperature control unit. In the exhaled breath collection device of the present disclosure, the temperature control unit is configured to control the cooling device to reach a target temperature which is set appropriately to correspond with the biomarker to be analysed.

The present invention relates to methods of diagnosing an inflammatory disorder in a patient, as well as methods of monitoring the progression of an inflammatory disorder and/or methods of monitoring a treatment protocol of a therapeutic agent or regimen. The invention also relates to assay methods used in connection with the diagnostic methods described herein.

A method to determine the severity of a disease of chronic inflammation in a patient, comprising the steps of (1) collection or preparation of a bodily fluid, tissue or lavage and (2) measurement of ALX receptor ligands or ALX receptor expression in the fluid, tissue, or lavage, wherein the level of ALX receptor ligands predicts a clinical outcome or choice of treatment modality, is disclosed.

The invention pertains to the use of a specific biomarker of elastin degradation (desmosine) that measures the extent and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition to potentially serving as a screening procedure for COPD, it provides a real-time measure of COPD drug efficacy and may therefore supersede the use of less sensitive tests such as pulmonary function studies and computed tomography. Equally important, the current invention constitutes a marked improvement for measuring desmosine in tissues and body fluids by greatly shortening the time for detection of this molecule in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) assays that are the gold standard for such measurements. Unlike previous methods, the invention allows for the use of LC-MS-MS without modification, so the method can be applied to any laboratory that uses this equipment for other measurements. This would include forensic facilities that need to determine if undiagnosed COPD played a role in the loss of life.

The methods and assays described herein relate to the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of subjects with emphysema, COPD, and/or cigarette-induced lung damage. In some embodiments, the methods and assays relate to subjects with a decreased level of NLRX1 expression. In some embodiments, the methods and assays relate to the administration of an agonist of NLRX1 and/or an inhibitor of MAVS.

The invention relates to a method for detecting and measuring the presence of mono-nucleosomes and oligo-nucleosomes and nucleosomes that contain particular histone variants and the use of such measurements for the detection and diagnosis of disease. The invention also relates to a method of identifying histone variant biomarkers for the detection and diagnosis of disease and to biomarkers identified by said method.

The present invention provides compounds and methods for treating or preventing pulmonary diseases include COPD and asthma. In particular, the present invention provides for compounds comprising type V collagen, or tolerizing fragments thereof, for the treatment of COPD and asthma.