Yale University School Of Medicine Release: Independent Study Shows Alcat Test Can Significantly Improve Symptom Severity For Those With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Researchers at Yale School of Medicine reported a landmark study in BMJ Open Gastroenterology showing that patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who follow individualized diets based on a particular food sensitivity blood test experienced significant symptom improvement.

The study, led by Ather Ali, assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine at Yale School of Medicine and Wajahat Mehal, M.D., Ph.D., Internal Medicine Dept. (Digestive Diseases), Yale School of Medicine, appeared in BMJ Open Gastroenterology September 22, 2017 and is among the first to provide scientific evidence for this medication-free approach to treating irritable bowel syndrome. In the USA, 8% - 20% of the population, mostly female – or about one in five adults - is diagnosed with IBS which is estimated to cost about $1.5 billion annually.

The Yale team conducted a double-blind, randomized clinical trial of 58 patients with IBS who were pre-screened for IBS symptoms and quality of life. “We didn’t expect results like this,” said Ather Ali. “The individuals on diets consistent with test results fared much better overall in terms of symptom severity.” The specific test used was the Alcat Test.

IBS is a disorder that can cause chronic abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea and constipation. The Alcat Test, developed by Cell Science Systems (www.cellsciencesystems.com), is the first food sensitivity test to be validated by clinical testing as an accurate indicator of underlying food sensitivities that will lead to chronic IBS. By following an elimination diet based on the Alcat results, patients found a significant improvement in symptom severity.

Unlike other food sensitivity tests currently on the market, the Alcat test measures immune cell activation in response to more than 450 individual foods and substances. In the Yale study, results are reported from a “…rigorously controlled trial of a leucocyte activation test (Alcat), adequately powered to assess clinical response in participants with IBS, compared with a matched, individualized, sham diet,” as reported in BMJ Open Gastroenterology.

Roger Deutsch, CEO of Cell Science Systems, says, “We are delighted to see such positive results from the Yale study. 70% to 80% of the immune system is in the gut. What we eat can trigger an immune response that can cause IBS and a host of other inflammatory and dysregulated responses. This study will open more discussion about how personalization of diet can not only prevent and treat many chronic diseases like IBS; but, can be utilized to prevent the associated suffering and increasingly high cost. Implementation of the ALCAT test into routine health care will save billions in health care dollars.”

The study was supported by a grant from Cell Science Systems, Corp. and support from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health. The sponsor had no role in the design and conduct of the study.

About Cell Science Systems:

Cell Science Systems. Corp. (CSS) based in Deerfield Beach FL, also maintains a wholly owned subsidiary in Potsdam, Germany. CSS provides preventive medical laboratory testing services in molecular diagnostics, immunology and other specialties, is CLIA certified, and is an FDA registered medical device manufacturer, providing the Alcat Test® in over 25 countries. Its sister company, PreviMedica, is a telehealth company providing educational services to healthcare practitioners; and, nutritional lifestyle counseling for CSS customers, corporations, and others.