Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients

Testing for all four IgG sub-fractions leads to over 90% reproducibility, verified by blind split-sampling results.

Changing food habits have led to rapid growth in the incidence of food allergies. Food allergies have been linked with migraine headaches, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), arthritis, ADHD in children and many life-threatening conditions resulting from a compromised immune system.

An accurate food allergy test can greatly improve the lives of people suffering from undetected allergic reactions. However, recent reports indicate that the reliability of test results varies greatly from lab to lab.

Medical labs licensed in the USA must meet stringent operational criteria. However, reproducibility of test results isn’t one of them. In order to be reproducible, the lab must produce nearly identical results for specimens drawn from the same patient at the same time. But in many instances, they are not.

With sensitive tests such as the IgG ELISA (widely used for food allergy testing), the discrepancy in test results can be shocking. Food allergy testing can be a frustrating experience for the patient and physician. Findings published in the Townsend Letter question the accuracy and consistency of IgG food allergy tests, citing unacceptable variances of up to 73% in split-sample tests. ¹

Clinical recommendations about which foods to eat or avoid contradicted themselves for over 59% of foods tested. These findings are substantiated by the conclusions of a similar report published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy®. ²

Testing for food allergy by IgG ELISA is a fast, affordable and time-tested method. However, inconsistent test results have deprived patients of its significant benefits. Inaccuracy in food allergy testing is so widespread that most physicians tend to accept discrepancies as an “inherent” flaw in the IgG ELISA test. Thankfully, there is a way to overcome these shortcomings and achieve well over 90% duplicity (reliability) in food allergy testing.

While most labs are still content with testing solely for IgG4, Dr. Rebello’s research indicated that these laboratories may be passing over up to 60% of the reactive foods which trigger allergies mediated by IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3.

A new benchmark in food allergy testing
As early as 1993, Dr. John Rebello (Lab Director, Immuno Laboratories) pioneered a proven 4-step process he calls “the world’s best-kept secret about clinically effective food allergy testing”. “While this raised the cost of food allergy testing, it is by far the most thorough, reliable and cost-effective way to test” says Dr. Rebello.

“I think when you have someone like Immuno Laboratories’ Dr. John Rebello, a person whose attention to detail, focus and energy goes into reproducing numbers and data, and who takes great personal pride in that quality control, that’s what determines the outcome of any laboratory.”
- Dr. Jeffrey Bland, HealthComm International

Unreliable tests may be cheaper to administer but increase the overall cost of treatment
What’s worse is that patients and physicians trust printed test results better than their own observation or judgment, which means any headway made prior to the test is lost.

Inconsistent results provide shaky grounds for treatment, leading to loss of patients’ trust and potential liability to the physician. It is therefore in the best interests of both patient and physician to test for reliability of test results.

How to test a lab for reliability
Reliability of test results is measurable and directly impacts treatment results. It’s one of the reasons why weekly reproducibility (split-sample) tests have been an integral part of the internal quality control system for over 15 years at Immuno Laboratories.

According to Dr. Born, a long-time client of Immuno Laboratories, "Immuno 1 BloodprintTM responses are reproducible - a couple of times I've checked the test using the same patient's blood. I've marked it with two different identifying names and received back bloodprint reports showing exactly the same readouts.

“I'm impressed. The results I witness are clinically significant since my patients become well once again by following guidelines sent out by the staff of Immuno Laboratories.

“The personnel are superb in their performance; each is supportive, cooperative, accurate, and reliable, especially laboratory director Dr. John Rebello. And you must know that a clinical laboratory is only as defect-free as its laboratory director," Dr. Born added.

While peer reviews are important, it’s vital for physicians to know first hand about reliability in food allergy testing. The only way to get to the truth is by using the right protocol for testing labs that do your patients’ tests. The testing lab must be completely blind to the details of the split sample and must perform the test according to their daily, normal protocol. Thankfully, there’s a simple and proven way to ensure reliability in split-testing.

Why are some patients so challenging?
Every practice has them and yours is probably no exception – difficult, challenging patients – they present a set of chronic symptoms to you. They’ve tried everything and nothing seems to help. Well, we’re ready to help by guaranteeing that our testing delivers measurable relief for your most challenging patients or we pay for the testing!

Frustrated patients call us daily and they’ve taught us: Their Doctors virtually never ask them one key question, “Has anyone ever tested you for the link between what you eat and how you feel?” Very few patients are ever tested for hidden food allergies – yet our 25 years, over 25 million tests, tells us just about everyone is eating something that’s toxic to their particular system! That means despite our best efforts, the Immuno 1 Bloodprint™ is still a big secret.

Stop The Toxic Shock To Your System