June
4th,2012 (health.com) A blood test that
measures a marker of immune-system activity may help doctors identify people who
are at risk of dying at an early age, a new study suggests.
Researchers at
the Mayo Clinic measured levels of the immune-system molecules known as free
light chains in 15,859 Minnesotans age 50 and up, and found that people whose
levels were in the top 10% were four times more likely than the other study
participants to die over the next 13 years.
Doctors commonly
test for free light chains to diagnose and...