Patent ID: 9322832
Filing Date: 2016-04-26
CPC Classification: G01N

Claim Text:
1. A method for diagnosing degenerative joint disease in an animal comprising: collecting a saliva sample from the animal; determining the amount of interferon gamma (IFNγ), interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and total saliva protein (TSP) in the saliva sample; comparing the amount of diagnostic agent found in the saliva sample to a corresponding amount of the same diagnostic agent found in a saliva sample from one or more comparable control animals that do not suffer from degenerative joint disease; and diagnosing that the animal is susceptible to or suffering from degenerative joint disease if the amount of IFNy in the saliva is about 1.2 times to about 20 times the amount found in the saliva of the one or more comparable control animals, the amount of IP-10 in the saliva is about 1.4 times to about 20 times the amount found in the saliva of the one or more comparable control animals, the amount of IL-2 in the saliva is about 1.6 times to about 20 times the amount found in the saliva of the one or more comparable control animals, or the amount of TSP in the saliva is at about 1.8 times to about 20 times the amount found in the saliva of the one or more comparable control animals, wherein the diagnosis is based upon determining the amount of all four diagnostic agents.