Salivary Diagnostics.

The article discusses the potential of saliva to diagnose diseases. Saliva is mostly water, but it also contains protein molecules that lubricate our wagging tongues, inhibit the growth of bacteria, prevent excessive swings in pH and begin the process of digestion. One of the most important reasons for developing saliva-based diagnostic tests is a matter of simple economics. The author and his research team have worked to identify salivary biomarkers for several other diseases. Most recently, they published a paper on a group of 26 RNA biomarkers that characterize Sjögren's syndrome, which primarily affects the salivary glands and tear ducts but can also cause symptoms in many other tissues.