Terveystalo broadens its range of services with a stomach health test developed by Biohit, Finland
Terveystalo, Finland’s leading private healthcare service company, now offers Biohit's GastroPanel tests among its services. The test is available in over a hundred Terveystalo sites all across Finland. The test is a safe way of examining symptomless patients coming in for a health check-up as well as dyspeptic patients.
Agreement with Terveystalo ensures widespread availability of GastroPanel
- An increasing number of Finns can now check the health status of their stomach. This is important, since roughly one out of three Finns suffer from dyspepsia, whose symptoms include intermittent or continuous discomfort in the upper abdomen, nausea, swelling, belching, heartburn or pain. These problems are often medicated with over the counter drugs, but this can lead to a situation where an asymptomatic but serious disease, which may be a cancer risk factor, is not diagnosed", says Jussi Heiniö, CEO of Biohit.
An easy and reliable examination
- Terveystalo seeks to provide a wide range of services for its customers, and GastroPanel is a handy primary examination for our general practitioners when they encounter a patient who suffers from stomach problems or when a symptomless patient comes in for a health check-up. A simple blood test gives a lot of information about the patient's condition, enabling the physician to select the treatment or prescribe further studies, says Päivi Metsäniemi, Medical Development Director of Terveystalo.
- In occupational health care, we can offer the GastroPanel test not only to dyspeptic employees, but also to employees coming for a health check-up or a medical examination before employment. It is vital to get a high-risk patient to treatment as soon as possible, she continues.
GastroPanel screens the high-risk patients for early treatment
The GastroPanel examination is performed by drawing a blood sample and determining the concentration of biomarkers that indicate the condition of the gastric mucosa, and the presence of any Helicobacter pylori antibodies. The resulting report offers a lot of information about the condition and functioning of the gastric mucosa. The exam is a cost-effective way of detecting diseases which, if detected too late, can lead to cancer. The GastroPanel examination is recommended for use by health centres and occupational health physicians.
- Employers should propose that GastroPanel be included in the list of basic exams covered by the occupational health care agreement. There is no reason to wait until a potentially serious disease gets worse, since this quick examination is an easy and risk-free way of determining the condition of the stomach. A diagnosis and subsequent treatment received for dyspepsia reduces risky self-medication and decreases health care costs, Biohit’s Jussi Heiniö notes.
More information:
Jussi Heiniö
President and CEO, Biohit Oyj
Tel: +358 9 773 861, Mobile: +358 400 701180
jussi.heinio@biohit.com
Osmo Suovaniemi, MD, Professor
Member of Biohit Oyj’s Board of Directors
Tel: +358 9 773 861, Mobile: +358 40 745 5605
osmo.suovaniemi@biohit.com
About Biohit and its products:
Biohit Oyj is a globally operating Finnish biotechnology company that was established in 1988. The company’s mission is to improve human health and quality of life. The company follows a goal-directed and long-term innovation and patenting strategy.
Biohit works with scientific communities to produce new technologies, products and services based on research results and innovations that can be used to develop safe and cost-effective liquid handling solutions for laboratory work as well as diagnostic tests for the early detection and prevention of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Biohit has two business segments: liquid handling and diagnostics. Liquid handling products include electronic and mechanical pipettes, disposable tips as well as pipette maintenance and calibration services for research institutions, healthcare and industrial laboratories. The diagnostics business comprises products and analysis systems for the early diagnosis and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases, such as the blood-sample based GastroPanel examination for the diagnosis of stomach illnesses and associated risks.
Before the GastroPanel innovation, atrophic gastritis caused by a Helicobacter pylori infection or autoimmune disease and associated risks (such as stomach cancer and a deficit of vitamin B12, iron and calcium) were often discovered by chance when a histological examination was performed on biopsies obtained during gastroscopy. The GastroPanel examination is performed by drawing a blood sample and determining the concentration of pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II and gastrin-17, which are indicators of the condition of the gastric mucosa, and the presence of any Helicobacter pylori antibodies. The GastroPanel report offers a lot of information about the condition and functioning of the gastric mucosa, including the following:
• A diagnosis of a Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis, and its location in the corpus (body of the stomach) and/or antrum (extension of the stomach body). Atrophic gastritis in the corpus causes a low-acid or anacidic stomach where the carcinogenic acetaldehyde is generated, which can lead to e.g. stomach and oesophageal cancer. Atrophic gastritis in the antrum increases the risk of stomach cancer and peptic ulcer disease. The 13C urea breath test, faecal antibody test or plain antibody tests used for diagnosing dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori infection are unable to detect atrophic gastritis, and do not reveal profuse gastric acid secretion.
• An indication of a Helicobacter pylori infection in cases where the patient also has an atrophic gastritis, MALT lymphoma (a benign stomach cancer caused by Helicobacter pylori) or a bleeding peptic ulcer (gastric or duodenal ulcer) or is taking proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medication or antibiotics. In these cases the 13C urea breath test and the faecal antigen test produce a lot of false negative results, i.e. they are not able to detect a Helicobacter pylori infection.
• Profuse secretion of gastric acid, which can increase the risk of severe complications (such as oesophageal cancer), in a gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Atrophic gastritis, suspected complications due to gastroesophageal reflux disease and a symptomatic Helicobacter pylori infection need a gastroscopy.
In addition, Biohit produces quick tests for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance and Helicobacter pylori infection in connection with gastroscopy, and the ColonView test for the early detection of faecal occult blood that indicates a risk of colorectal cancer. Acetium capsules, when taken with meals or when consuming alcohol, reduce the amount of carcinogenic acetaldehyde which is formed in a low-acid or anacidic stomach. The low acidity or anacidity is caused by an atrophic gastritis in the corpus as well as acid blocking medication (PPI drugs and H2 antagonists). (The test on www.acetium.com indicates the risk of acetaldehyde exposure).
The Biohit Group employs around 400 people. The company is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and has subsidiaries in France, Germany, the UK, Russia, India, China, Japan and the USA. The company also has a representative office in Singapore. Biohit's products are also sold through about 200 distributors in 70 countries.
Since 1999, Biohit's Series B share has been quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki in the Small cap/Healthcare group and is traded under the code BIOBV.
For more information, please see www.biohit.com and the following articles and publications referred therein:
1. Sipponen P, Salaspuro M, Härkönen M. Atrofinen gastriitti. Biomerkkiainetutkimus ja atrofinen gastriitti – tärkeä mahalaukun syövän ja B12 vitamiinipuutoksen riskitila. Yksityislääkäri 2008;3:99-106. (In Finnish) An abbreviated version of the article has previously been published in Suomen Lääkärilehti (Sipponen P, Härkönen M, Salaspuro M. Atrofinen gastriitti jää liian vähälle huomiolle. Suomen Lääkärilehti 2008;63:1428-30)
2. Storskrubb T, Aro P, Ronkainen J, Sipponen P, Nyhlin H, Talley NJ, Engstrand L, Stolte M, Vieth M, Walker M and Agréus L. Serum biomarkers provide an accurate method for diagnosis of atrophic gastritis in a general population: The Kalixanda study. Scand J Gastroenterol, 2008; 43:1448-1455.
3. Telaranta-Keerie A et al. Prevalence of undiagnosed advanced atrophic corpus gastritis in Finland: an observational study among 4 256 volunteers without specific complains, Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2010; 45: 1036 – 1041