The Globe Digest #53:Stanford Medicine offers safer, faster way to diagnose invasive mold disease

For people with weakened immune systems, common molds lurking in the environment – in the soil, along damp walls, or on a forgotten apple – can cause dangerous infections deep inside the body. These invasive mold infections can quickly become fatal without treatment, yet they are difficult to diagnose without invasive procedures such as a tissue biopsy

Now, a blood test developed at Stanford Medicine offers a safer, faster way to diagnose invasive mold disease. In a new study, published Jan. 17 in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers found that the blood test, which detects genetic material from mold, could replace invasive tests in most cases..