Self-diagnosis technology by earwax

In the future, people can detect many diseases at home early with simple kits that check blood, sweat or even earwax, feces.

What can blood, sweat, tears say about the human body? Scientists and doctors have long studied body fluids to find health clues. To date, scientists have discovered that these body fluids can reveal more than ever before about inner human activity. With these advances, in the near future, it is easier to carry out self-performed tests at home than ever before.

Last week, the BBC reported on Tricoder , a handheld device that tracks key health indicators, the real-life version of the device that has appeared in Star Trek movies. Tricoder opens hope to diagnose dangerous diseases like Ebola before people realize they are infected without spending time searching for remote labs.

The compact device called Scanadu, a Tricorder, can produce health data just by placing it on the front of the forehead.(Photo: CNN).

Not only technological progress paved the way for complicated experiments that can be done outside the hospital, commercialization of advanced medical products also contributed significantly. The device called Cue , helps users to test for pregnancy, self-test for flu and signs of infection are actively being deployed to the market. The X-Prize Fund also launched a competition to find the next generation of Tricorder devices, integrating the ability to diagnose a variety of different diseases.

In the next 5-10 years, the world expects to receive more testing methods based on new blood inputs, sweat, including excretions that may embarrass many people. However, blood tests still account for the majority of home-developed self-examination kits.

"Based on blood samples, we can detect almost every food a person has consumed or what is happening inside the body," Guy Carpenter, associate professor of biology at Kings College London, UK, said.

Besides, the development of science also allows the use of other secretions of the body as an indicator, according to George Preti, Monellor Sensory Center, Philadelphia State, USA. Preti directed his research into the disease clues hidden in the secretory product of human ear wax.

Earwax - hidden disease clues

Unlike blood, earwax is a fat compound, meaning that certain molecules can concentrate in the earwax and are more easily detected in liquids.

"If a group of metabolites breaks down in fat, we can find them in ear wax , " Preti explained.

For example, syrup syrup (syrup urine ) syndrome, a genetic metabolic disorder, causes a person to lose the ability to break down certain proteins, which can be diagnosed by the smell of earwax.

"Earwax is sick with smell like maple syrup", Preti explains. Preti recently published a study revealing that East Asian earwax possesses a different odor from European, African or American residents, similar to the variety of body odor.

"Earwax provides indicators of illness and also provides information that tells whether a person has eaten what or where he has been," Preti said. However, whether earwax becomes more useful than blood and other body fluids in diagnosing the disease is still a question that needs more research time, the expert admitted.

Earwax under a microscope.(Photo: BBC).

Sweat is also a secretive product that attracts the attention of scientists. For decades, sweat has been used by experts in screening newborn infants with cystic fibrosis , a syndrome that loses the balance between sodium and chloride in sweat.

Based on this indicator, the world is developing simple pieces of tape that can warn athletes of changing the electrolyte balance due to dehydration during continuous movement. Since then signaling before the "loss of strength" period for athletes to promptly add electrolytes to the body.

The benefit of monitoring your body condition by indicating sweat is that it can be done flexibly . Users do not need trouble needles or bandages like in a hospital. On the other hand, a sweat sensor can be placed just below the dress and wirelessly transmits, and people don't need to spend a lot of time thinking.

However, the sources of information obtained from sweat still have some limitations."Sweat contains molecules that make markers, but they are very easy to change, so they can prevent clinical effects," said Jeremy Nicholson, head of the biochemistry department at the Royal College of London, England. note.

The composition of sweat is also affected by the activity of living microorganisms on the skin. Meanwhile, blood, tends to provide a more accurate picture of inner body activity.

Information contained in only a small drop of blood may be more than the current knowledge of science. Manfred Kayser, at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, is developing a DNA test that can detect the age, appearance and geographical origin of a person, based solely on a blood sample. This method promises to be an effective arm to help the police track down suspects or determine the identity of the dead body.

One of the most anticipated studies revolves around the potential for disease forecasting based on microorganism organisms that live inside and on the surface of human bodies.

"We believe that at least one third of metabolites in human blood are made by microorganisms , " said Tim Spectot, genetic epidemiology professor at Kings College London, author of "The Secret of the Menu." " said. Microorganisms clearly create health impacts that humans have not fully understood until now.

For example, chemicals that alter mood serotonin are not only produced by brain cells, bacteria living in the gut are also capable of doing this. Therefore bacteria also contribute to depression in humans.

Human feces - the best model to look for changes in bacterial flora

"If a person provides stool samples and DNA samples, I can say a lot more based on stool patterns than DNA," Spector compares. Although the genomes of two different people may be approximately 99.9% similar, they only have about 10-20% of the bacteria that reside in humans, the expert explains.

Recent studies show that intestinal microorganisms, and therefore, are also present in the stool, influenced by human consumption and where the person lives.

"We can detect the difference in microbiota between Europeans, Africans, South Americans and the difference between twin sisters, one living in Scotland and one in the UK," Spector said.

Analysis of microorganisms and chemicals in the stool not only helps to show complex diseases such as depression, obesity or urinary incontinence, but also provides an early warning for elderly people with a period of health weakness. and need support.

Sweat is also a source of input for scientists to develop medical applications.(Photo: BBC).

"As elderly health deteriorates, we find that certain microorganisms in the intestine have an increase, while others decrease , " Spector said.

The sources of information that make health indicators more abundant and lower costs of analysis, self-test kits are the inevitable trend in the future. Some people believe this will create a revolution in health care, limiting the need to travel for testing, and helping people to automatically monitor their health and be more responsible for it. I can.

However, this may also be the source of unnecessary worries and false predictions.

"We can provide people with the means to test many diseases, such as how to interpret the results still need the guidance of health professionals," Carpenter stressed. Privacy issues are another concern.

Whether viewed in a positive or negative direction, in the near future, a sample of blood, sweat or even earwax can be all necessary inputs to obtain information about behavior, health and other aspects of people.