Cell Science Systems: Researchers from Yale School of Medicine, Section of Digestive Diseases; and Dept. of Pediatrics, take step in understanding the immunology of food intolerance

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone knows the difference between food allergy and food intolerance.  Allergy is mediated by a well understood pathway, involving IgE as the final trigger, and it produces immediate symptom onset.  It can also be life threatening. Therefore, patients with suspected true food allergy should seek the care of a board certified allergist.

Food intolerance is something clearly different.  The pathway, or pathways, is/are not yet defined, symptoms are delayed, and prevalence may be high.  Symptoms are not as acute but may lead to long term health issues.  Dietary elimination and challenge is considered the "gold standard" for identification of offending foods.

Now, researchers from the Yale School of Medicine are attempting to uncover the immunological or at least physiological underpinnings of intolerance, to determine if there are specific biomarkers associated with intolerance to make their identification easier.

They are looking at clinical reactions to foods in patients with IBS to see if there are patterns.  They are comparing reactions on the Alcat Test, an in vitro, lab based cellular assay, with other known and understood markers of inflammations, such as the up regulation of surface markers on immune cells.  Research has only started but so far they have found a clear association between strong Alcat test reactions and up regulation on CD 11b molecules on the surface of CD3 and CD8 positive T lymphocytes.

It's too soon to draw conclusions but the findings show promise of finding such a biomarker.  They intend to keep looking to see if severe reactions on the Alcat Test are associated with neutrophil degranulation and/or activation of the inflammasome, as well as conducting randomized controlled trials to determine if personalized dieting based on the Alcat test results in improved clinical outcomes amongst patients with IBS.

Drs. Ayaz Ghani, Wajahat Mehal, and Ather Ali, reported their early findings last week at The International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine.

About Cell Science Systems

Cell Science Systems (www.alcat.com) is a specialty clinical laboratory that develops and performs laboratory testing in immunology, cell biology, molecular diagnostics, and other specialties supporting the personalized treatment and prevention of chronic disease. Cell Science Systems, Corp. operates a CLIA certified laboratory and is a FDA inspected registered, cGMP medical device manufacturer meeting ISO EN13485 standards. Cell Science Systems is best known for pioneering the Alcat Test for food and chemical sensitivities.   The company operates subsidiaries in Europe and Asia.

SOURCE Cell Science Systems