Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is one of the most widely used laboratory diagnostic parameters in the preliminary assessment of inflammation; indeed, every reader of this work has likely received an ESR assessment in their lifetime. A rapid ESR is a non-specific parameter that provides information about the inflammatory process. Although the origins of this methodology date back to antiquity, the prevailing view that ESR simply reflected particle settling of erythrocytes has recently undergone a paradigm shift: once cell aggregates form a system-spanning network, gravitational collapse of a weak and percolating gel reveals a more complex process reflecting the failure. The apparent non-specific nature of the cells and proteins involved also called into question the medical utility of ESR, at least in well-resourced environments. Here we show a new experimentally derived and physically modelled approach (“supraESR”) that enhances the value and accuracy of ESR for a variety of conditions that exhibit abnormally slow ESR (e.g., sickle cell disease, neuroacanthocytosis syndromes, chronic mountain sickness). We introduce a completely new diagnostic parameter that is based on an established and easily automated measurement method that promises low-cost screening for neuroacanthocytosis syndrome, a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that are currently detectable only through integration of complex multimodal findings.
Source: medRxiv
Authors: Alexis Darras, Min Qiao, Kevin Peikert, Anne Hecksteden, Thomas John, Hannes Glaß, Emeric Stauffer, Ingrid Muniansi, Benoit Champigneulle, Aurelien Pichon, Michael Furian, Ivan Hancco Zirena, Julien V. Brugniaux, Alzbeta Mühlbäck, Michael J. Simmonds, Elie Nader, Philippe Joly, Tim Meyer, Samuel Verges, Andreas Hermann, Adrian Danek, Philippe Connes, Christian Wagner, Lars Kaestner
Institutions: University of Bristol, Saarland University, Universitätsmedizin Rostock, University of Rostock, Universität Innsbruck, Université de Lyon, Inserm, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université de Poitiers, Laboratoire Mobilité Vieillissement et Exercice, University Hospital Zurich, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Griffith University, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, LMU Klinikum, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Luxembourg
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204883241