Millions of people afflicted by irritable bowel syndrome can now be diagnosed quickly and accurately with two simple blood tests developed by a Cedars-Sinai gastroenterologist. The tests, created by Dr Mark Pimentel, director of the GI Motility Programme and Laboratory, confirm when a patient has developed IBS because of food poisoning, a major cause of the disorder.
Toxins produced by bacteria, such as salmonella, can severely harm the digestive system by damaging nerves critical to healthy gut function. The new blood tests identify the presence and amount of specific antibodies reacting to the toxins. "Having an early diagnosis means patients can avoid years of invasive tests and visits to specialists that often leave them with more questions than answers," he said. "With these new blood tests, many patients will now be able to proceed right to therapy for their condition."
IBS, nearly impossible to diagnose until now, is characterised by a cluster of confounding symptoms that include chronic bloating, abdominal pain, gas, and bouts of relentless diarrh0ea, constipation, or both. Fatigue and the stress of trying to plan one’s life around visits to the bathroom can be debilitating.
Pimentel and fellow researchers studied nearly 3,000 people, comparing IBS patients to those diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and those with no GI disease. The blood tests identified the two antibodies associated with IBS – anti-Cdtb and anti-vinculin – with greater than 90% certainty.
"Most IBS patients have been told at one time or another that the disease was psychological, all in their head," said Pimentel. "The fact that we can now confirm the disease through their blood, not their head, is going to end a lot of the emotional suffering I have seen these patients endure."
[link url="http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2015/Definitive-Tests-for-Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome-Developed-at-Cedars-Sinai.aspx"]Cedars Sinai Medical Centre material[/link]
[link url="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0126438"]PLOS One abstract[/link]