Our Biochemistry testing options offer practitioners fast and effective results. The services have been designed to match practitioners’ expectations in terms of quality and service, whilst at all times offering cost effectiveness for the practice and the practices’ clients.
Our comprehensive Biochemistry service is operated internally by our team of highly trained scientific officers, under the direction of our Head of Biohaem Sara D’Agorne FIBMS.
Renowned in the UK diagnostic industry for the speed and quality of diagnosis we provide, Axiom Veterinary Laboratories Ltd offer diagnostic referral solutions to practitioners across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
We offer testing options in the following areas within our
in-house Biochemistry Department:
Routine Analysis on our Olympus AU640 analyser
The Olympus is used for measurement of: albumin, ALP, ALT, AST, amylase, BHB, bile acids, total bilirubin, calcium, cholesterol, CK, creatinine, fructosamine, GGT, GLDH, glucose, GSH, LDH, lipase, magnesium, NEFA, phenobarbitone, inorganic phosphate, total protein, sodium, potassium and chloride, triglycerides, urea, uric acid.
The Olympus is also used for measurement of urine creatinine, urine protein and CSF protein.
Miscellaneous Chemistry Tests
Bromide measurement
Potassium bromide is a sedative used in the control of epileptic seizures in dogs, with the bromide ion being pharmacologically active. Monitoring is essential to determine whether the administered dose is producing a therapeutic level of bromide in the blood and to avoid toxicity.
Ceruloplasmin
The enzyme ceruloplasmin plays an important role in redox reactions, in particular the oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ required for incorporation of iron into transferrin without the formation of toxic iron compounds. It contains approximately 95% of the total serum copper, which is vital for its activity. Measurement of ceruloplasmin activity (in conjunction with total serum copper) is used to assess copper deficiency in cattle.
Copper assay
The metal Copper is an important trace element, which is routinely determined in ruminants to help ascertain their nutritional status. The method used for the determination of copper is that of atomic absorption spectrometry. This is the reference method for copper and provides reliable and accurate results.
Ionised calcium
Ionised calcium is the only physiologically (metabolically) active form of calcium. Increased or decreased levels of ionised calcium are found in hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism respectively
Urine NAG (N-Acetyl-b-D-Glucosaminidase)
NAG is an enzyme derived from the kidney and found in the urine of normal healthy animals. It is a sensitive and early marker of renal disease and tubular damage (compared to serum creatinine levels which do not rise until 50% of renal function is lost).
Serum protein electrophoresis is used to separate proteins into 5 main classes (albumin, alpha 1-globulin, alpha 2-globulin, beta-globulin and gamma globulin) according to their charge, via electrophoresis in an agarose gel. Serum protein electrophoresis is used as a screen for a disease such as multiple myeloma, macroglobulinemia, or amyloidosis.
SIP (Serum intestinal phosphatase )
The different isoenzymes of ALP are reflected in serum levels. The main isoenzymes of ALP are located in the liver, kidney, bone, placenta and intestine.
One of the major sources of ALP activity in equines is the intestinal fraction, serum intestinal alkaline phosphatase (SIP). Damage to the intestinal mucosa may result in a rise in serum SIP.
SIAP (Steroid induced alkaline phosphatase )
ALP may be raised in various pathological disorders or where there is tissue damage. In dogs, an increase in ALP may be observed as a consequence of excess steroid (glucocorticoid) treatment. This steroid-induced ALP (SIAP) may also occur in dogs with Cushing's syndrome and is due to increased secretion of cortisol from the adrenal cortex. In both cases the steroid promotes hepatic production of ALP by a direct effect on gene translation in the hepatocytes.
Urine protein electrophoresis
Urine protein electrophoresis is used to separate urine proteins, derived from plasma proteins that filter through the kidney, according to their charge, via electrophoresis in an agarose gel. The presence of abnormal proteins in the urine is used to evaluate renal function and differentiation of proteinurias - physiological, glomerular (selective and non-selective), tubular and proteinuria associated with globulinaemias (e,g. the presence of free light chains, or Bence-Jones protein, in myeloma).
