Simple Blood Test Identifies IBS with 91% Accuracy

Researchers have developed a simple blood test that could quickly and efficiently diagnose irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in patients.

IBS, the most common gastroenterological disorder in the United States, was previously only able to be diagnosed through the ruling out of other conditions.

“Having an early diagnosis means patients can avoid years of invasive tests and visits to specialists that often leave them with more questions than answers,” explained mark Pimentel, MD, an author of the study and director of the GI Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.¹
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“With these new blood tests, many patients will now be able to proceed right to therapy for their condition,” he said.¹

Researchers recruited 2375 participants with the D-IBS biomarker from a large-scale multicenter clinical trial. Further, they selected 142 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), 121 individuals with celiac disease, and compared them to 43 healthy controls.^1,2

All of the participants were between 18 and 65 years of age.²

The investigators identified 2 antibodies linked to IBS in the blood test— Cdtb and anti-vinculin—with 91.6% certainty.^1,2

The study showed that anti-CDtB titers were much higher in participants with IBS compared to those with IBD, healthy controls, and those with celiac disease (P<0.001). Further, researchers discovered that anti-vinculin titers were significantly greater in patients with IBS (P<0.001) compared to the other groups.²

The findings confirmed that anti-vinculin and anti-CdtB antibodies are heightened in the IBS group compared to those without IBS.²

The complete study is published in the May issue of PLOS one and was presented on Sunday, May 17, 2015 at the Digestive Disease Week 2015 in Washington, D.C.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

References:

1. Cedars-Sinai. Definitive tests for irritable bowel syndrome developed at Cedars-Sinai. May 14, 2015. www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2015/Definitive-Tests-for-Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome-Developed-at-Cedars-Sinai.aspx. Accessed May 21, 2015.

2. Pimental M, Morales W, Marsh E, et al. Development and validation of a biomarker for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome in human subjects. PLOSone. 2015 May [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126438.