As we enter the last stretch of 2025, we look back at the topics covered on our blog this year. From environmental toxicology to chronic disease monitoring and early Alzheimer’s detection, this year’s articles highlighted the growing role of accessible and patient-centric diagnostic methods across a range of disease areas.
Heavy Metals: Understanding Exposure, Testing, and Toxicity
At the start of the year, we focused on heavy metal exposure and its impacts on public health. In the first of three articles on this topic, Heavy Metal Toxicity Explained, we outlined what heavy metals are, why they persist in the environment, and how they can build up in living organisms. While iron, zinc, copper and manganese are essential for life at low concentrations, the same metals can become toxic once specific thresholds are exceeded. Others, including lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, serve no biological function and are toxic even at low levels. We looked at the key mechanisms behind heavy metal toxicity, and summarized the ways in which they enter the body, and the symptoms and organ damage they cause. Major exposure routes include workplace exposure, lead-based paint, leeching from lead-containing pipes, industrial emissions and contaminated groundwater.
Our Part 2 of that series, Heavy Metal Testing: An Expert Overview, we looked at scenarios that call for heavy metal testing and summarized the testing approaches used today. These include venous blood draws, urine testing, and the use of supporting tests such as complete blood counts, kidney and liver function studies and imaging. We also discussed the advantages of microsampling for heavy metal testing, highlighting dried blood microsampling as an alternative to traditional venous blood draws. In Part 3, Heavy Metal Blood Tests: What Patients Need to Know, we described how heavy metal toxicity tests work and how results are interpreted. We also looked at some of the logistical challenges that traditional venous sampling presents and highlighted how newer, at‑home self‑sampling approaches can simplify access and increase testing capability. On that note, a large study launched last month in Leeds will investigate home-based finger-prick sampling using Capitainer’s blood microsampling device to screen young children for lead exposure. Led by Northumbria University, the ECLIPS project aims to recruit 500 children aged 1-6 and assess how remote sampling can improve the detection of lead exposure in a family-friendly setting. You can read more about that project here.
Prostate Cancer Screening: PSA Testing and Evolving Approaches
In May, we shifted our focus to prostate cancer. More than 1.4 million new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year, and this number is set to double by 2040. According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, early detection dramatically impacts survival rates. This highlights the importance of effective screening tools, with prostate specific antigen or PSA testing being the primary method currently available. In An Introduction to PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer, we described how PSA became the first ever cancer biomarker approved by the FDA, and looked at how PSA testing has since evolved and varies across countries. Given PSA’s high sensitivity but imperfect specificity, countries have adapted their screening strategies differently. For example, in Sweden, the Organized Prostate Cancer Testing (OPT) program includes MRI as a second step to help avoid unnecessary biopsies. Newer technological advances such as risk calculators and epigenetic markers are also emerging to help detect prostate cancer earlier.
Hypothyroidism: Presentation, Diagnosis, and the Central Role of TSH
In July, we turned to endocrinology with An Introduction to Hypothyroidism – Presentation, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment. This article outlined the main types of hypothyroidism and explained how symptoms often overlap with common conditions or natural aging, contributing to late or missed diagnoses. We noted how the prevalence of hypothyroidism varies depending on many factors, including iodine availability, age, sex, and regional nutritional factors. Our article described how the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) blood test is used to diagnose hypothyroidism, why reference ranges differ across populations, and why repeat testing is often recommended. We also summarized the importance of follow‑up confirmatory tests and discussed the scale of underdiagnosis, along with how emerging at‑home testing options may improve accessibility.
Dried Urine Sampling and Kidney Health
Later in the year, we revisited kidney health with Dried Urine Sampling For Patient-Centric Kidney Health Management. In this overview, we explained how kidney function is routinely monitored using certain key biomarkers, including: serum creatinine, eGFR, BUN, and urine‑based markers such as the albumin‑to‑creatinine ratio (uACR). We also summarized alternative biomarkers including cystatin C, KIM‑1, NGAL, and IGFBP7 × TIMP‑2, and described how dried urine sampling offers a stable, low‑burden alternative to collecting liquid urine. Since then, Capitainer has launched DIP70, a dried urine sampling device that enables patients to collect samples at home and send them by regular mail for accurate measurement of key biomarkers, supporting practical, patient-centered kidney monitoring.
Alzheimer’s Blood Testing and Early Detection: Introducing the SEP10
In our latest article, Alzheimer’s Blood Test: Why Don’t We Screen for Early Detection?, we reviewed the growing importance of blood‑based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We explained how amyloid and tau accumulation, which have long been implicated as a cause of AD, can begin more than two decades before symptoms appear, and why early detection is essential to identify the individuals most likely to benefit from emerging therapies. We highlighted p-tau217 as one of the most promising biomarkers for AD, and noted the May 2025 FDA approval of the Lumipulse G test, the first in vitro diagnostic plasma test for AD, which measures the pTau217/β-amyloid 1-42 ratio.
Despite progress in AD testing and treatment, many challenges persist, including the limited scope of the Lumipulse G test, infrastructure challenges, ethical considerations, and cost barriers. Our article highlighted the potential of self‑sampling technologies and high‑throughput proteomics to enable broader early detection. Capitainer’s CE-marked and FDA Class I registered SEP10 device for dried plasma sampling is already being used in groundbreaking AD biomarker research to support remote and scalable testing.
Looking forward to 2026!
We hope you enjoyed our blog articles this year, and we are already looking forward to diving in more exciting topics in 2026.