International Cannabis Abuse
International Cannabis Abuse
The 2018 UN World Drug Report calculated that around 275 million people worldwide used drugs at least once in 2016 and some 31 million of those suffer from a drug use disorder.
Cannabis was the most commonly used drug in 2016, with 192 million people using it at least once that year. The global number of cannabis users continues to rise and appears to have increased by roughly 16 per cent in the decade ending 2016, which is in line with the increase of the world population.
The quantities of cannabis seized worldwide fell by 27 per cent, to 4,386 tons in 2016. This decline was particularly noticed in North America, where the medical cannabis in many states and the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use may have played a role in the declining figures. There is evidence from Western countries that the perceived easy availability of cannabis, coupled with perceptions of a low risk of harm, makes the drug among the most common substances whose use is initiated in adolescence. Cannabis is often used in conjunction with other substances and the use of other drugs is typically tried after recreational cannabis use.
As the need for vital drug screening continues to increase, Randox Toxicology are leading the way in developing new and novel drugs of abuse tests. Capable of detecting up to 21 classical, prescription and synthetic drugs from a single sample including cannabinoids, our fully automated Evidence MultiSTAT analyser utilises our Biochip Array Technology to deliver reliable and accurate results in under 20 minutes.
For further information about the Evidence MultiSTAT and our cutting-edge multiplex testing capabilities, contact info@randoxtoxicology.com to be put in touch with a sales member or visit www.randoxtoxicology.com.
We Are Randox | Team Randox scales the heights of Victoria Square for AWARE NI
On Sunday 21st October 2018, a team of brave Randox colleagues faced their fears and took part in a ‘freefall’ abseil from the dome of Victoria Square, Belfast. Scaling the heights of the 147ft, almost 45m drop, our fourteen daring Randox thrill seekers enjoyed views over Belfast before they stepped over the edge of the lilypad and ventured down to the ground floor of one of Belfast’s most recognisable structures.
The event took place as part of Randox’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Month throughout October, which sought to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing among staff members while fundraising for our two charity partners – AWARE NI and Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood. Events in the month have not only included a Victoria Square abseil but also a Wear Yellow Wednesday for World Mental Health Day, a fundraising coffee morning and internal fundraising bake sales along with yoga and relaxation class offers for staff members.
Congratulations to those all abseil participants! While this may be something else ticked off your ‘bucket list’, it also, most importantly, is a fantastic effort in raising awareness and funds for the work of AWARE NI, Northern Ireland’s depression charity.
Well done to everyone with your fundraising. You have all worked very hard and raised a fantastic amount – around £2000 so far and counting!
We hope you enjoy the photographs from the day. If you would still like to donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/RANDOXAWARE
Once again, many thanks on behalf of both Randox and AWARE NI to the Randox abseilers for their enthusiasm and fundraising efforts on behalf of both Randox and AWARE NI.
For more information about the abseil or Randox Mental Health & Wellbeing Month, please contact RandoxPR@randox.com.
Scottish Trade Delegation visits Randox Teoranta in Donegal
A Scottish trade delegation, led by the country’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee, visited several companies in the Gaeltacht area of Donegal this week, including Randox Teoranta in Dungloe, Donegal.
Randox Laboratories Ltd was established in County Antrim in 1982 to address the need for accurate and readily available diagnostic tests to improve patient diagnoses, and Randox Teoranta in Donegal was subsequently opened in 2008.
A dedicated R&D and manufacturing biohub, Randox Teoranta researches, develops and manufactures a range of unique tests on the Randox Biochip.
Exporting over 95% of its products worldwide, Randox has a global vision and staff at Randox Teoranta have the opportunity to interact with like-minded innovators across the world, including the University of Nottingham, the Royal Derby Hospital, Pacific Biomarkers in Seattle, USA, The British Psychological Society and the Medical University of Vienna, to name but a few.
On Friday 19th October the trade delegation to visit Randox Teoranta, hosted by Údarás na Gaeltachta, announced a new trade partnership agreement between Scotland and the Donegal Gaeltacht.
The trade mission was set up to prove that challenges for businesses in Scotland and Donegal can be overcome by working together.
For Scottish companies setting up in somewhere in the Gaeltacht and for companies from the Gaeltacht interested in establishing themselves in Scotland, they can access the market to test its feasibility, with the support of Údaras na Gaeltachta and Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
For more information on the Scottish Trade Delegation to Randox Teoranta please contact the Randox PR team on 028 9442 2413 or by emailing randoxpr@randox.com
Ractopamine Detection in Meat
Ractopamine was first developed as a treatment for asthma but was never approved according to Consumer Reports. Research later uncovered that when added to animal feed prior to slaughter, ractopamine could increase meat leanness or weight. However, ractopamine is currently banned or resisted in over 160 nations, including Russia and all European Union countries.
Ractopamine belongs to a class of drugs known as beta-agonists. These drugs mimic the effects of adrenaline, resulting in increased protein synthesis in muscle tissue during the administration period. When looking at the long-term effects of the therapeutic use of beta-agonists, side effects include a fast heart rate, widening of blood vessels, skeletal muscle tremor, nervousness, metabolic disturbances, high blood sugar and a lower than normal potassium in the blood. It is for this reason that in Europe all beta-agonists are banned for use in livestock and for improving athletic performance according to EU council directive 96/22/EC.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provide a “Never Fed Beta Agonists” program for companies that produce livestock and beef and pork products. Companies are to meet the requirements of the program if they are to supply pork or beef to customers that require verification of marketing claims that meat is derived from animals that are free of beta agonist residues.
With over 35 years’ experience within the diagnostics industry, Randox Food Diagnostics provide the highest quality products, customer service and technical support to ensure the needs of our global customer base are met. Our dedicated research and development team have therefore created our USDA approved ELISA kit for the detection of ractopamine residues. Offering excellent limits of detection, our accurate and reliable ractopamine test is applicable on urine and tissue sample types.
To ensure compliance with regulations, Randox Food Diagnostics also provide the Growth Promoter Multiple Matrix Array. Utilising our patented Biochip Array Technology, the Growth Promoter Multiple Matrix Array detects for several growth promoters in meat, including ractopamine.
For more information on our ractopamine ELISA or Growth Promoter Multiple Matrix Array, email info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com
The Different Sample Types Available in Drug & Alcohol Testing Programs
At Randox Testing Services we utilise discreet and non-invasive methods of drug & alcohol testing for comfort and fast sample collection. Offering a choice of a urine test, hair drug test, saliva drug test or a combination of tests, our drug testing methods ensure the possibility for short-term and long-term drug abuse profiling. With different drug testing methods having different windows of detection, we offer advice on which methods to utilise depending upon your company’s drug testing requirements, ensuring the best method or combination of methods is chosen to ensure all your testing needs are fulfilled.
Below we will provide a breakdown of each sample type and accompanying detection windows for the presence of illicit substances.
Urine – Drug & Alcohol Testing
Urine is the most common sample type for drug & alcohol testing. Simple and practical to obtain, it offers short-term drug abuse profiling. It is considered non-intrusive and sample collection is not observed.
Detection window
Drugs: 4 hours – 8 days (30 days for regular cannabis users)
Alcohol: <12 hours
Oral Fluid – Drug Testing
Oral fluid testing analyses a saliva sample for parent drugs and their metabolites. Providing analysis of short-term drug abuse, an oral fluid test is used for with-cause testing and post-incident testing, with results detectable 30-60 minutes after ingestion.
Detection window
Drugs: 24 hours – 48 hours after consumption (drug dependent)
Breath – Alcohol Testing
Breath can be tested for alcohol using handheld devices which provide immediate results. These devices are specific to alcohol and can gauge blood alcohol content (BAC) by measuring deep lung air. This type of testing can accurately determine whether a person has recently consumed alcohol or is currently over the legal or pre-determined limit.
Hair – Drug Testing
A hair drugs test offers a longer window of detection than alternative testing and provides a detailed month-on-month view of overall picture of drug use. This can highlight trends of drug use, suggest abstinence or show evidence of use depending on the length of the hair sample. Our hair testing services are tailored to meet the specific needs of our customers.
Detection window
Typically, up to 90 days using a 3cm sample (1cm of head hair = 1-month detection).
Body hair can be used to provide extended window of up to 1 year
Randox Testing Services
At Randox Testing Services we are committed to improving the safety of workplaces who may be affected by drug & alcohol consumption. We offer a wide range of quality products designed to test for illegal substances quickly and efficiently, ensuring minimal disruption in your workplace.
To find out more about sample types and how they are utilised in workplace testing programs, click this link: http://bit.ly/RTS-samp
For more information on the different drugs we currently test for, click: http://bit.ly/RTS-drugstest
If you would like to find out more about our drug & alcohol testing programs, contact us today to speak to one of our experience business development executives.
Web: www.randoxtestingservices.com
Email: testingservices@randox.com
Phone: +44 (0) 28 9445 1011
National Cholesterol Month: Protect your family from early heart disease
Have you heard of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)?
A common disorder that is passed from parents to their children, FH is often called the ‘silent killer’ as it is characterised by dangerously high levels of cholesterol, leading to early onset cardiovascular disease.
The good news is that if diagnosed, FH can be effectively treated. The even better news this National Cholesterol Month is that a rapid and accurate diagnostic test for FH, developed by Randox Laboratories, has made diagnosis across the UK much simpler.
The prevalence of FH
Thousands of families in the UK are affected by FH, as not only is heart disease the number one killer across the globe, there is a 50:50 chance that a parent with FH will pass it onto their children. The condition can lead to higher risk of a heart attack in men before the age of 50, or before the age of 60 in women.
A common disease, at least 1 in every 500 people in the UK are living with FH, although new international research suggests that 1 in every 200 people could be affected, which would mean as many as 300,000 people in the UK. Worryingly, it is substantially underdiagnosed and less than 12% of people with FH in the UK are aware that they have this potentially life-threatening condition.
Testing for FH
The current recommended screening techniques for Familial Hypercholesterolemia are costly and time consuming, limiting the number of individuals who benefit from a timely diagnosis. Under NHS guidelines, when a person is found to have FH, their closest blood relatives should get tested too – including children before the age of 10.
The Randox FH test, developed in partnership with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, enables detection of the 40 most common genetic mutations that cause FH in the UK, with results available in just three hours, and a definitive diagnosis within one day.
With early and appropriate treatment, such as adopting a healthy lifestyle and taking cholesterol-lowering medication, risk of heart disease can be significantly reduced so that someone with FH can live as long as a person who doesn’t have the condition.
Professor John Chapman, Past- President of the European Atherosclerosis Society, which promotes study into the causes of accelerated atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, has welcomed the Randox test for suspected cases of FH:
“FH is a serious condition for those with a family history of accelerated atherosclerosis and premature cardiovascular disease. With this information, preventative measures including diet, lifestyle and lipid lowering drugs can be successfully introduced. Indeed, early identification and prevention can significantly benefit all family members potentially with this condition. In fact, we are entering an exciting time in the treatment of those with cardiovascular disease as new and highly effective drugs for lipid management are becoming available.”
The test, which is available through Randox Health Clinics, has been adopted by medical professionals within the NHS, including Dr. Colin Graham, recently retired Consultant Clinical Scientist and former Head of the Regional Genetics Lab in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, who introduced the test within his Belfast Laboratory screen for suspected cases of FH:
“The launch of this new clinically available test is a key milestone in the detection and diagnosis of FH. Current FH diagnostic tests require a large volume of samples to be batched, leading to lengthy turnaround times of two to three months. With the new test, the turnaround time is dramatically reduced, enabling more rapid patient diagnosis.”
Dr. Graham also highlighted the importance of improving detection rates through the screening of wider patient populations:
“This new test has the potential to enable FH screening to become routine in the clinical setting for improved detection and earlier identification of familial cases.”
Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director of Randox Laboratories said:
“In the battle against cardiovascular disease, people with FH are on the front line. On World Heart Day it is important to raise awareness of FH as many people do not even know that they and their family members have this life-threatening condition. There is so much that can be done to support families with FH and with this readily available and much-needed test, detecting and treating entire families with FH is now possible.”
For more information please contact the Randox PR team by email: randoxpr@randox.com, or by phoning 028 9442 2413
Randox collaboration with Centre for Personalised Medicine is officially launched
A €8.6m EU funded cross-border Centre for Personalised Medicine that will improve clinical decision making and patient safety for dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular, acute kidney injury and emergency surgery has been officially launched.
Funded by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), the Centre for Personalised Medicine brings together 14 academic, healthcare provider and enterprise partner organisations, including Randox Laboratories, to work together to deliver practical solutions to clinicians to ensure that patients get the right treatment at the right time.
Personalised medicine moves away from the ‘one size, fits all’ approach, using state of the art genomics testing, technology and computing and intelligence systems to deliver a more targeted approach.
Lead investigator of the Centre, Professor Tony Bjourson, Professor of Genomics at Ulster University and Director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine said:
“The Centre for Personalised Medicine will bring personalised medicine approaches to five of the most prevalent disease areas to improve the care and treatment of patients in Northern Ireland, the border region of Ireland and Western Scotland. This collaboration extends partnership working to key clinicians in the health sector ensuring that we address real world issues across the five disease areas.”
Dr Kenneth Martin, Senior R&D Scientist at Randox Laboratories, explained Randox’s role in the Centre for Personalised Medicine;
“Our highly committed R&D programme here at Randox means that we have more than 490 new tests currently in development – more than any other diagnostics company – across a range of pressing health challenges, including dementia, cardio-metabolic syndrome and renal disease. These tests, developed on our patented Biochip Array Technology which can conduct multiple patient tests simultaneously, can work to identify patients who will benefit from tailored therapeutics for enhanced efficacy. The CPM project will use Randox Arrays in four of the five research clusters in the project to determine how the information they provide can benefit clinical decision making. We aim to provide clinicians with the tools they need to make more accurate and better-informed decisions for their patients. This means that countermeasures can be taken at the earliest possible opportunity, when treatment is most likely to succeed.”
Welcoming the project Gina McIntyre, CEO of the Special EU Programmes Body, said:
“This project reflects one of the core objectives of the INTERREG VA Programme, to improve access to healthcare services for thousands of citizens. It has great potential as it will bring together a diverse range of cross-border partners to significantly improve clinical decision-making, and personalised treatment approaches, in the fight against five of the most common diseases.”
Match-funding for this project has been provided by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation in Ireland and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.
For more information on the Centre for Personalised Medicine please contact the Randox PR team on 028 9442 2413 or by emailing randoxpr@randox.com
Researching the Evidence Investigator
The Evidence Investigator analyser is based on the award-winning Biochip Array Technology (BAT). Biochip Array Technology is a multi-analyte testing platform allowing the simultaneous quantitative or qualitative detection of a wide range of analytes from a single sample.
The Evidence Investigator is a semi-automated benchtop analyser which is tailored for the areas of research, forensic, clinical, molecular and veterinary testing. The key feature is the fast turn-around time the Evidence Investigator can process up to 44 results from a single sample, with a maximum throughput of up to 2375 tests per hour. The Evidence Investigator saves time because it will carry out multiplex testing which will allow multiple tests to be carried out from a single patient sample which in return will save time and resources. The machine is more suitable for medium throughput laboratories.
The technology offers a wide-ranging and diverse test menu which will benefit the research areas immunology, metabolic, Sport & Exercise, oncology and cardiovascular. Randox Research provides the Evidence Investigator to the five research areas to help their research become more efficient, cost effective and accurate.
Randox works extremely hard with their research and development, over 16% of turnover is reinvested in R&D. The current collaboration Randox works along with are Royal Victoria Hospital, Queen’s University Belfast and Cambridge University.
Randox Biosciences are dedicated to assisting research projects to completion and will make available the technology to ensure the universities receive highly accurate results for their research. Randox creates their products in-house therefore provides the flexibility of the research project. Randox can provide the university a full range of arrays, biomarkers and analysers to meet their requirements of the research.
Within Cardiovascular Research, Randox offer a comprehensive menu of cytokines. The combination of highly specific antibodies and advanced chemistries enables cytokines, cytokine receptors and growth factors to be detected simultaneously in a single sample, providing valuable information relating to each cytokine under test and possible associations between cytokines in each sample which will benefit the research. Randox offer excellent tools for universities and hospitals researchers such as routine and novel assays and can provide research analysers such as the Evidence Investigator which is suitable for medium sized laboratory.
Oncology Research has 20 biomarkers that can be custom-made to be used on the Biochip. Randox Biosciences offers a wide and extensive test menu to researchers to enable the specific product tailored to meet their clinical trail requirements.
Metabolic & Nutrition Research is another area Randox offers a wide-ranging range of tests specifically directed to Metabolic and Nutrition Research. Randox offers reagents and arrays on the award-winning Biochip Array Technology.
For more information on our Research areas and the tests that we can provide, contact us at – Info@RandoxBiosciences.com
We Are Randox | Randox Wears Yellow for World Mental Health Day 2018
Today is World Mental Health Day and Randox is getting involved to raise money for our two charity partners – AWARE NI and Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood.
Colleagues across Randox sites in Northern Ireland have been donning yellow in order to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing and also to raise funds for these two fantastic causes.
Wear Yellow Wednesday is part of a series of events taking place at Randox as part of Randox Mental Health & Wellbeing Month – an initiative which encourages staff to take care of their mental wellbeing and seeks to support the work of AWARE NI and Mind Your Mood.
The month also entails a charity ‘freefall’ abseil from the dome of Victoria Square when 14 brave Randox colleagues will scale the heights to raise money for AWARE NI. You can visit their JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/RANDOXAWARE
AWARE NI is the depression charity for Northern Ireland. They have two offices in both Belfast and Derry. AWARE has an established network of 25 support groups in rural and urban areas across the country which are run by trained volunteers. AWARE also deliver mental health and well being programmes into communities, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces.
Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood initiative is a service managed by Student Support but designed and delivered by students to have lived experiences of mental health illness. Mind Your Mood was created to help build resilience to avoid mental illness, provide support at the earliest point to avoid progression of mental illness to something more serious and threatening and to build resilience and awareness and provide support to help students with already-diagnosed mental illness.
For more information on Randox Mental Health & Wellbeing Month please contact the Randox PR team on 028 9442 2413 or by emailing randoxpr@randox.com
What you need to know this National Cholesterol Month
October 2018 marks National Cholesterol Month, an entire month devoted to raising funds for the charity HEART UK, and raising awareness of the dangers of high cholesterol.
But how much do we actually know about cholesterol? Do we even know what it is?
Many people are confused about how cholesterol differs from fat, which is understandable, given that cholesterol is found in foods that are sometimes high in fat.
But cholesterol is actually a type of lipid, as is fat. Like fat, cholesterol is essential for a range of bodily functions, but unlike fat, cholesterol can’t be exercised off, sweated out or burned for energy.
The body does require a small amount of blood cholesterol to build the structure of cell membranes, and make hormones like oestrogen, testosterone and adrenal hormones.
It also helps your metabolism work efficiently. For example, cholesterol is essential for your body to produce vitamin D and bile acids to help you digest your food. It is carried in the blood by proteins, with which it combines to make lipoproteins.
The 2 main types of lipoprotein are:
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) which carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it’s either broken down or passed out of the body as a waste product. For this reason, HDL is referred to as “good cholesterol”, and higher levels are better.
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) which carries cholesterol to the cells that need it. If there’s too much cholesterol for the cells to use, it can build up in the artery walls. For this reason, LDL is known as “bad cholesterol.”
This cholesterol in the body comes from two main sources: the liver and diet. The liver, other organs and other cells in your body product about 75-80% of the cholesterol in the blood, while our diet contributes to about 20-25% of our cholesterol levels.
Foods high in saturated fat which can ultimately increase cholesterol levels include butter, hard margarines, fatty meat and meat products such as sausages, full fat chees, milk, cream and yoghurt.
Eating these foods in excess can therefore lead to a high level of cholesterol in the blood, called hyperlipidaemia.
High cholesterol itself doesn’t cause any symptoms, but it does increase your risk of serious health conditions including cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke because it builds up in the artery walls, restricting the blood flow to your heart, brain, and the rest of the body.
Given its vital role in the body, the serious conditions it can cause should it get too high, and the fact that if high, it does not produce any symptoms, it is extremely important to regularly monitor your cholesterol through blood testing.
Randox offers a range of cholesterol tests to ensure that individuals with high cholesterol get the earliest and most accurate diagnosis. In fact, Randox is responsible for more than 15% of all cholesterol tests carried out across the globe. Randox are tackling the need for better cholesterol testing with our wide range of niche and high-performance assays including sdLDL Cholesterol, Lipoprotein (a) and HDL3 Cholesterol.
For more information about National Cholesterol Month, or cholesterol testing at Randox, please contact the Randox PR team by emailing randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
