The GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile is the stool test of choice for optimizing clinical value in managing gut health and has been enhanced to now offer:
- Further insight into gut flora by identifying 24 Commensal Bacteria targets using PCR technology
- Identification of parasites using O&P technology
- Biomarkers indicating levels of digestive and absorptive functions, as well as potential issues with gut inflammation and immunology
Why use targeted stool testing?
Gastrointestinal function is critical for good health. The intestinal tract contains significant amounts of bacteria which, when imbalanced, scientific literature has associated with a wide variety of common illnesses including, but not limited to:
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- Autoimmune Disorders
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular Disease
Additionally, balancing gut microbiota is key for improving core gastrointestinal functions, such as digestion and absorption of nutrients, as well as metabolic functions. Poor digestion and malabsorption may impact immune function, optimum nutritional status, and mood.
Why is the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile the best stool test for gastrointestinal diagnostics?
By evaluating targeted biomarkers, the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile can reveal hidden conditions that other stool tests may overlook. Now with the use of Calprotectin, the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile is a simple, yet more superior stool test that has the ability to differentiate Irritable Bowel Syndrome from Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Other benefits include:
Why is the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile the best stool test for gastrointestinal diagnostics?
By evaluating targeted biomarkers, the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile can reveal hidden conditions that other stool tests may overlook. Now with the use of Calprotectin, the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile is a simple, yet more superior stool test that has the ability to differentiate Irritable Bowel Syndrome from Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Other benefits include:
More Actionable Results
GI Effects Stool Profiles utilize the best technologies available to manage gut health, including enhanced molecular (PCR) technical performance, an expanded number of commensal targets, detection of parasites, and premier inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers – all designed to increase the prevalence of clinically actionable results.
Enhanced Clinical Utility
Our value-added report provides Interpretation At-a-Glance that provides immediate treatment insight via key biomarkers for Infection, Inflammation, Insufficiency, and Imbalances by using graphics designed to place immediate focus on the big picture. The Interpretation At-a-Glance also summarizes commensal bacterial patterns into global markers of gut health in a Diversity
Association graphic. As well, our Relative Abundance graphic provides a
comparison of the patient’s microbial abundance to a healthy cohort of patients.
Option of 1-Day or 3-Day Specimen Collection
Our GI Effects Stool Profiles allow the choice of either one- or three-day collection, based on your approach to diagnosis and the needs of your patient.
NEW Biomarkers & Add-ons
The GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile now includes biomarkers such as Calprotectin and Pancreatic Elastase 1, as well as premier inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers such as EPX and Beta-glucaronidase. It also offers five additional add-ons – including EIA assessment of pathogenic bacteria – for greater utility: HpSA – H.pylori, Campylobacterspp, Clostridium difficile, Shiga toxin E. coli and Fecal Lactoferrin.
Test Type: Stool Test
Four Functional Pillars
Pertinent biomarkers have been grouped into four clinically actionable areas:
Four Functional Pillars Biomarker Map
Infection
Inflammation
Insufficiency
Imbalance
The four functional pillars utilize a proprietary algorithm to evaluate key clinical markers in the four functional areas. The algorithm takes into account the level of each individual biomarker and its degree of clinical impact. As a result, an overall score of high, medium, or low is provided for each functional pillar. The score is represented by color-coded icons and informational graphics.
The specific biomarkers of concern that are utilized to establish the results for each functional pillar are listed in the Four Functional Pillars Biomarker Map.
with states of relatively good health, while low diversity has been associated with states of disease or chronic dysfunction in the scientific literature.
Relative Abundance represents the levels of selected phyla in an individual’s microbiome and is represented relative to similar measures derived from a healthy cohort of individuals.
An algorithm is also used to graphically represent the microbial diversity and relative abundance of the commensal bacteria. The Diversity Association is a proxy measure of the diversity level of organisms in the gut. The impact of each commensal genera/ species is weighted based on its association with high and low bacterial diversity. The Relative Abundance represents the size of each of the phyla as calculated by the assessed commensal organisms and is shown in comparison to the levels seen in a defined healthy cohort.
Measuring diversity association and relative abundance serve as global measures of an individual’s gut health. Monitoring these markers over time provides insight into the impact of medications, supplements, diet, and lifestyle interventions on current and future health. Specific treatments, as directed by the results of the four functional pillars, would be expected to produce positive responses in the diversity and abundance of gut bacteria.
Diversity and Abundance
It is now known that the human GI tract is home to more than 1000 species of microbial organisms, almost all of them bacteria. These organisms – collectively known as the microbiome – far outnumber the human cells in any individual and fulfill many metabolic functions.1-3
It is becoming evident that many factors go into developing and maintaining what might be called a “healthy microbiome,” but this emerging area of biology is vastly complex. Indeed, prior to very modern analytic developments, there was no way to understand either the number or the functions of the tremendous population of organisms making up the human GI microbiota. Recent developments rely on DNA or RNA patterns, and by comparing detected sequences with libraries of known organisms, laboratories can now detect a tremendous number and variety of organisms.
One of the first fruits of this new technology is the discovery that, while the entire pool of possible members of the microbiota is large (> 1000 species), a much smaller number, 150 to 170 species, is found to predominate in any given individual.
Utilizing a molecular assay platform optimized for stool analysis, GI Effects assesses a set of clinically relevant 24 genera/species that map to 7 major phyla. GI Effects utilizes 16S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification techniques. The improved method offers an enhanced DNA extraction method, updated primer sequences, and optimized thermal cycling for an enhanced reportable range. After detection of these organisms, a computer algorithm is used to map them into a graphic representations of diversity association and relative abundance.
