Commonwealth Laboratories announced the availability of IBSchek, a new blood test designed to help physicians quickly and reliably diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Within 24 hours of receiving the blood specimen, the test identifies the presence of two antibodies — anti-CdtB and anti-vinculin, which recent data have shown to be indicative of diarrhea-prominent IBS.
These data, which will be presented during an oral session at Digestive Disease Week 2015 in Washington, D.C., show that for the first time ever, researchers have identified an organic biomarker for the diagnosis of IBS. Prior to the introduction of IBSchek a diagnosis of IBS was typically made after excluding all other conditions. This often requires multiple costly diagnostic tests over an average of five years to rule out other conditions before coming to a confident diagnosis of IBS.
"Data from this study validates our long-held suspicion that IBS is caused by infection, by way of confirming anti-vinculin and anti-CdtB as blood-based biomarkers that provide a differential diagnosis of IBS," says Mark Pimentel, M.D., FRCPC, Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai.
IBSchek tests for the presence of antibodies that are created when intestinal microbes (called microbiota) are altered by acute gastroenteritis.
It detects levels of an antibody to a toxin from gastroenteritis called CdtB (cytolethal distending toxin B), as well as vinculin, an antibody that forms against the body. While the test is more specific for anti-CdtB, the anti-vinculin component suggests that IBS may be an autoimmune disease.
The two antibody levels are complimentary in further understanding IBS and together enable a differential diagnosis of IBS.