ALCAT test

The antigen leukocyte antibody test (ALCAT test) is one that claims to measure adverse reactions to dietary substances. It was created by American Medical Testing Laboratories and is now marketed by Cell Science Systems (also known as ALCAT Diagnostic Systems) of Deerfield Beach, Florida. Researched conducted at Yale School of Medicine published in BMJ Open Gastroenterology in 2017 demonstrated improvement for those with irritable bowel syndrome[1]

"These findings reject the null hypothesis and show that a diet guided by leucocyte activation testing results in demonstrable clinical improvement in IBS. These clinical results, associated with a reduction in plasma neutrophil elastase, have implications for better understanding the role of food intolerance and the pathophysiology of IBS."[1]

A study conducted in 2014 demonstrated reactions identified as "severe" were associated with the up-regulation of CD11b on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, suggesting a basis for further research into the mechanisms alleged.[2]

Research published up to 2010 did not support the test or provide evidence that it was a reliable medical diagnostic tool; since it had not been validated. [3][4][5][6][7] In a position statement, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy classified the ALCAT with other forms of cytotoxic tests as inappropriate tests, saying of them

"These results have been shown to not be reproducible, give different results when duplicate samples are analysed blindly, don't correlate with those from conventional testing, and 'diagnose' food hypersensitivity in subjects with conditions where food allergy is not considered to play a pathogenic role."[8]

References
  1. Ali A, Weiss TR, McKee D, Scherban A, Khan S, Fields MR, et al. (2017-09-01). "Efficacy of individualised diets in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomised controlled trial". BMJ Open Gastroenterology. 4 (1): e000164. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2017-000164. PMC 5628288. PMID 29018540.
  2. "Food reactivity on the ALCAT leukocyte activation test is associated with upregulation of CD11b on T cells". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  3. Wüthrich B (2005). "Unproven techniques in allergy diagnosis" (PDF). Journal of Investigational Allergology & Clinical Immunology. 15 (2): 86–90. PMID 16047707.
  4. Gerez IF, Shek LP, Chng HH, Lee BW (January 2010). "Diagnostic tests for food allergy" (PDF). Singapore Medical Journal. 51 (1): 4–9. PMID 20200768.
  5. Mullins RJ, Heddle RJ, Smith P (August 2005). "Non-conventional approaches to allergy testing: reconciling patient autonomy with medical practitioners' concerns". The Medical Journal of Australia. 183 (4): 173–4. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb06986.x. PMID 16097911. S2CID 30242205.
  6. Yasuhara A, Yamazaki D (October 2003). "[The method of utilizing food allergy test]". Rinsho Byori. The Japanese Journal of Clinical Pathology. Suppl 127: 73–8. PMID 14653218.
  7. Ito K (November 2008). "[Practical diagnosis of food allergy]". Arerugi. 57 (11): 1109–16. PMID 19052505.
  8. "Unorthodox Techniques for the Diagnosis and Treatment of allergy, Asthma and Immune Disorders". ASCIA Position Statement. Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). November 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
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