Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total assay* has been CE-marked for use on the ADVIA Centaur/XP Immunoassay Systems. The company is offering a fully automated Vitamin D total assay that is traceable to LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry), considered the gold standard in vitamin D testing. In addition, the assay measures the total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level (~100% D2 and D3) to ensure patients are correctly evaluated for deficiency, sufficiency or toxicity.
Vitamin D deficiency has long been associated with rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, and long-term insufficiency of calcium and vitamin D leads to osteoporosis. More recently, studies are linking vitamin D deficiency to several other disease states such as cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes and autoimmune diseases1.
At the same time, deficiency rates are increasing with over 1 billion people being vitamin D deficient worldwide2 as people limit their sun exposure due to the risk of skin cancer. As deficiency rates continue to rise – and support continues to build for vitamin D sufficiency as a general health indicator – so too has the demand for vitamin D testing.
A number of studies have reported discrepancies between assays used to measure vitamin D. This variability calls into question the assay’s ability to accurately identify individuals affected by vitamin D deficiency3. Siemens Vitamin D Total assay measures a patient’s total 25(OH) vitamin D level-100% of D2 and D3, the two major forms of vitamin D.
The most widely used indicator of vitamin D status is the measurement of the metabolite 25-hydroxyvitamin D in either serum or plasma. Because circulating 25(OH) D can arise from hydroxylation of either vitamin D2 or D3, measurement of total 25(OH) D (both D2 and D3) is essential for accurate assessment of vitamin D status3.
“As testing volumes continue to increase, laboratories need to feel confident they can meet that demand with an accurate, reliable Vitamin D assay,” said David Hickey, CEO, Chemistry, Immunoassay, Automation & Diagnostics IT Business Unit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “The ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total assay enables laboratories to have it all-precise, consistent results with a turnaround time in as little as 18 minutes.”
Source: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics