Prometheus Laboratories Inc announces findings from its development of Prometheus® IBS Diagnostic, the first blood test for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The findings suggest measurable differences in the expression of particular biomarkers in blood samples between IBS and non-IBS patients. The identification of these biomarkers, combined with a proprietary algorithm, led to the development of Prometheus IBS Diagnostic. These findings were presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
"Prometheus IBS Diagnostic is an exciting advancement in the field of functional gastrointestinal disease," said Dr Anthony Lembo, MD, a gastroenterologist in the Division of Gastroenterology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medial Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "This test complements current symptom-based diagnostic practices by identifying patients with biomarker patterns consistent or inconsistent with IBS."
Following an extensive analysis of approximately 600 to 700 pathways, each containing hundreds of potential IBS biomarkers, Prometheus scientists identified 16 biomarkers that showed sufficient altered expression. The expression levels of these 16 biomarkers were then measured in a sample cohort of more than 1,700 patients and analyzed to reveal optimal IBS prediction with a final set of 10 biomarkers, including some that enable Prometheus’ proprietary protection. These biomarkers are associated with one or more of the following pathways related to digestion: motility, brain-gut axis, neuronal regulation and immune function.
"IBS can be very difficult to definitively diagnose and is therefore often left untreated," said Joseph M. Limber, President and CEO of Prometheus. "Prometheus IBS Diagnostic is the first in a series of tests we are developing for this complex syndrome. It provides physicians a valuable tool to help clarify or validate other clinical findings. This test further strengthens our growing portfolio of proprietary, high-value diagnostics and complementary pharmaceutical products."
IBS can be challenging to diagnose because it is a functional disease that is not associated with any visible abnormality and symptoms often overlap with other gastrointestinal conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and chronic functional constipation/diarrhea. Symptom-based criteria have been established to make a positive diagnosis of IBS; however, in practice the diagnosis of IBS is typically made through a process of elimination by determining the patient does not have other gastrointestinal diseases with similar symptoms.
Source: PRNewswire
