Dr. Princetta’s Laboratory Recommendations
Osteoporosis:
- Complete Bone Density Scan
- Urine Pyrlinks Test (this test shows if you are losing bone faster than creating new bone)
** Medicare will cover both of the above tests
Hormones:
- Saliva Test ( the most accurate method because saliva contains both RNA and DNA)
** Medicare will cover the above tests
Laboratory Tests: (Some if not all of these are allowable via Medicare-if not they are worth paying for via other insurance or out of pocket)
- Urinalysis
- CBC (Complete Blood Count)
- Chemistry Panel (including Lipids and TSH)
- Complete Thyroid Panel (if Thyroid is an issue)
- hs CRP (C Reactive Protein) (Heart )
- Homocysteine (Heart)
- NMR: (Particle number of cholesterol) Total cholesterol means very little as a predictor for heart disease however the more particles of cholesterol the patient has the greater the risk of heart disease. This test only assesses the P-LDL and the particle size. The particle number should be less than 1000 and the small particle should be less than 600.
- Lp-PLA2: A new inflammation marker very specific for cellular and arterial inflammation. On this test I like to see the numbers below 190.
- Hemoglobin A1C (3 month blood sugar)
- Vitamin D-25 Hydroxy
- Leptin, Serum A hormone that has a central role in fat metabolism. Leptin was originally thought to be a signal to lose weight but it may, instead, be a signal to the brain that there is fat on the body.