Aldehydes are a vital biomarker in understanding a patient's general health from a biochemical perspective

By Daniel J. Murphy, DC, and Bhairavi Parikh, PhD | Chiroeco.com

Diagnosing chiropractic conditions is most frequently done through patient history, clinical examination, and medical imaging. Since most chiropractic patients seek care for musculoskeletal issues, lab testing is not as commonly used by chiropractors as other medical disciplines.

With the growing focus on whole-body care and nutritional supplements, however, wellness testing is becoming a larger part of today’s chiropractic practice. One of the newer wellness biomarkers is non-invasive and, to the surprise of many patients, can be found in their breath.

The breath contains more than 1,000 individual components within the “exhaled breath condensate,” including molecular gases, volatile organic compounds, and aerosolized droplets, which can be identified through mass spectrometry and gas chromatography. Recent advances in capturing and condensing the exhaled breath have allowed scientists to reliably capture breath compounds in the parts-per-billion range. Many of these biomarker compounds have equivalent sensitivity and specificity for breath testing as with blood or urine testing.

For the layperson, this means that breath testing for certain compounds can be as good as blood testing.

Portland Business Journal — March 25, 2011 — The move to a new field came naturally to Chris Marsh.

Marsh, CEO of Portland-based Pulse Health LLC, is building on his tenure at Unicru Inc., where he grew annual sales tenfold to more than $60 million.

He anticipates similar results at Pulse Health, which markets a device called Revelar that helps medical professionals identify and minimize cell damage.

In the first quarter of 2011 alone, the company has already quadrupled its revenue from last year to $8 million. Marsh expects the company to turn its first profit next year.

Revelar™ now provides healthcare professionals with the ability to determine how antioxidants and other treatments affect aldehyde scores

March 8, 2011 — PORTLAND, Ore. — Pulse Health announces Revelar™ the first non-invasive device to help healthcare professionals and their patients measure aldehydes and help minimize free radical damage. Revelar is breakthrough breath technology that accurately detects and measures the presence of aldehydes, which are indicators of free radical damage in the body (research, Rapid Commun Mass Spectrum 2003).

Free radicals are molecules, present in every person, but can become unstable leading to cell damage and eventually disease. Free radical damage is also referred to as oxidative stress or simply cell or tissue damage. Extensive scientific research has shown that an overabundance of free radicals is associated with many degenerative diseases including heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature aging (research, American Journal of Epidemiology 2001). Factors that may contribute to production of free radicals include diet, activity level, stress, chemicals, pollutants and other factors.

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