CK-MB assay
The CE-marked Lumipulse G CK-MB immunoassay can be used as an aid in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or as a marker of reinfarction. The launch of this assay now completes the Lumipulse G Cardiac panel which also includes BNP, high sensitivity troponin I and myoglobin. These cardiac assays provide high sensitivity, high precision and a wide dynamic range. Added to this, the single test cartridge concept helps eliminate reagent waste for cardiac markers such as CK-MB and myoglobin, assays that will tend to be run in lower volumes. Creatine Kinase (CK) is an enzyme found in high amounts in muscle tissue due to its role in muscle contraction. CK-MB is found mainly in cardiac muscle, where it comprises 15-40% of the total CK activity, with the remainder being CK-MM. Trace amounts of CK-MB are found in skeletal muscle (2-3% of the total CK activity); therefore, patients with skeletal muscle injury will have increases in the absolute concentrations of CK and CK-MB. Furthermore, release of CK-MB only occurs upon death of myocardial cells and it is not released in the setting of ischemia. CK-MB was therefore considered to be the most useful biomarker for detection of myocardial injury before the introduction of high sensitivity troponin assays.
