Factors Affecting Accuracy of Analysis of Biomechanical...

Measurement of biochemical markers represents an important aid to clinicians in the early diagnosis and prognosis of neurological disease. However, there are many factors, such as pre-analytical, analytical and post analytical features, that can contribute to lead to an accurate test result in the chemistry laboratory. Nevertheless, it is necessary to validate proposed biomarker candidates in a well-designed and high-quality controlled study. It requires both suitable and sufficient clinical specimens and highly reproducible and quantitatively accurate analytical techniques. Particularly more than 84% of laboratory errors can be attributed to pre-analytical factors that include patient condition, specimen collection, transport, processing and analysis [15]. Also in a CSF analysis, it has been suggested that several pre-analytical factors, such as CSF collection, storage or freeze thawing cycles, can affect the content of CSF proteome, leading to various errors of misunderstanding in the biomarker research [16, 17]. Currently these variables could be divided into two general groups, in vivo and in vitro. In vivo factors are those biological factors that are related directly to the patient, such as a specific time of day needed to collect the CSF or the influence of fasting. On the other hand, â€Å"in vitro† factors are linked to the procedure of sample collection, storage and analysis. They include the localization of the lumbar puncture, the volume of CSF taken, the type of