The Alcat Test

The ALCAT test was developed as a screening test for adverse reactions to specific foods, food additives, pharmacoactive agents to food chemicals and food colorings. The ALCAT test is based on the accurate measurement of cells volume and counting of the remaining cells. Cell counting is done by counting pulses produced by changes in electrical resistance as the white blood cells and platelets, suspended in a conductive liquid, transverse a small aperture. Data are fed into a computer which compares each reaction mixture with an unreacted control aliquot and prints a graph of each superimposed on the graph. [http://www.alcat.com/assets/File/REPRODUCIBILITY%20OF%20THE%20ANTIGEN%20LEUCOCYTE%20CELLULAR%20ANTIBODY%20TEST.pdf]

Food Intolerance

Food intelerance is a digestive system response rather than an immune system response. It occurs when something in a food irritates a person's digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or break down the food. [http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/foods-allergy-intolerance Food Allergy vs. Intolerance ] ]

Food intolerance has been shown to cause migraines, aching joints, fatigue, urticaria, celiac disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, eczema, hyperactivity/ADD, nausea, stomach pain, gas, cramps, bloating, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, irritability, nervousness, asthma and obesity. [ [http://www.alcat.com/aboutus.php Food Allergy & Intolerance Symptoms, Chemical Sensitivity Test, Migraine Headaches, Eczema, ADD, Asthma & Obesity Treatment - ALCAT ] ]

Controversy

There has been a number of controversies regarding the effectiveness of the ALCAT test. The ALCAT test is basically a more sophisticated version of the older Leukocytotoxic Test, which was stopped in the USA by the government after negative statements from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).Another review has also stated that cytotoxic testing (such as ALCAT) is ineffective for diagnosing food or inhalant allergies. [http://www.jiaci.org/issues/vol15issue02/1.pdf]

On May 21th 2008, the Danish television channel TV2 did a report on the ALCAT test, where multiple doctors expressed their disbelief concerning the actual effectiveness of the ALCAT test. The programme, however, never explained the difference between food allergy and food intolerance, nor did it explain anything technical about the various types of tests. The main focus was on a doctor who offers the ALCAT test to her patients but fails to tell them that it is not endorsed by commonly approved scientifical tests or articles. An example mentioned in the programme was one patient whose written Alcat test report contained lists of 'positive' and 'negative' food stuffs. According to these lists, she could not tolerate ascorbic acid, also known as Vitamin C, which is a vital component of human diet: however, she was also informed that she "could" tolerate vitamin supplement pills, which themselves contained ascorbic acid. [ [http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/baggrund/article.php/id-11036013.html TV 2 Nyhederne - Se seneste udsendelse fra PraXis ] ] Another patient had a known allergy against hazelnuts, but the ALCAT test failed to detect this allergy, thus rendering hazelnuts on the list of approved foods. However, The ALCAT Test does not detect IgE mediated allergies. The programme concluded that patients with food allergy would benefit more from a simple skin allergy test than from the ALCAT test. The difference between rapid-response food allergy and slow-response food intolerance was, however, not explained in the programme. Nor did the programme distinguish those allergies causing classical respiratory and skin reactions from those causing digestive problems. Again, it should be noted that The ALCAT test is not designed to detect immediate, IgE mediated allergies. The ALCAT Test reproducibly measures the final common pathway of all pathogenic mechanisms; whether immune, non-immune, or toxic. If a patient is known to have an allergic, IgE reaction to a specific antigen it highly recommended that the patient avoid that substance.

Several studies supporting the accuracy of the ALCAT test can be found on the ALCAT website. These include double-blind studies and work by researchers asserting that they have no financial involvement in the company.

Notes

References

#WML Neetling PhD, F.A.C.A & AM Kachelhoffer, Mmed. Reproducibility of the Antigen Leucocyte Cellular Antibody Test (ALCAT) (Statistical Analysis, Summery Statistics & Scientific Report) [http://www.alcat.com/assets/File/REPRODUCIBILITY%20OF%20THE%20ANTIGEN%20LEUCOCYTE%20CELLULAR%20ANTIBODY%20TEST.pdf]
#WebMD [http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/foods-allergy-intolerance]
#"Cell Science Systems" [http://www.alcat.com/aboutus.php]
#WebMD [http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/foods-allergy-intolerance]
#"Unproven techniques in allergy diagnosis" [http://www.jiaci.org/issues/vol15issue02/1.pdf]
#"TV2.dk (Danish)" [http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/baggrund/article.php/id-11036013.html]