Simple Saliva Test may uncover Deadly Diseases

A revolutionary saliva test may be on the way.

UCLA researchers are working on a test that could have the ability to diagnose diseases like diabetes and cancer. It’s also possible the test could diagnose neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases.

The most comprehensive analysis ever conducted of RNA molecules in human saliva, reveals that saliva contains many of the same disease-revealing molecules that are contained in blood. It was published online by the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Chemistry and will be published in the journal’s January 2015 special print issue, “Molecular Diagnostics: A Revolution in Progress.”


Dr. David Wong, a senior author of the research and UCLA’s Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Professor in Dentistry, said: “If we can define the boundaries of molecular targets in saliva, then we can ask what the constituents in saliva are that can mark someone who has pre-diabetes or the early stages of oral cancer or pancreatic cancer – and we can utilize this knowledge for personalized medicine.”

Wong said the test also holds promise for diagnosing Type 2 diabetes, gastric cancer and other diseases. “If you don’t look in saliva, you may miss important indicators of disease,” Wong said. “There seems to be treasure in saliva, which will surprise people.”

RNA, widely known as a cellular messenger that makes proteins and carries out DNA’s instructions to other parts of the cell, is now understood to perform sophisticated chemical reactions and is believed to perform an extraordinary number of other functions, at least some of which are unknown….(more)

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