YORKTEST

On Friday 10th October the topic for ITV's TONIGHT programme was DIY Diagnosis. LiverCheck was reviewed and we were not surprised to hear that the flagship consumer affairs programme declared the test and service to be "100% accurate" when compared with an equivalent hospital test.

The role of elevated levels of homocysteine, a naturally occurring amino acid in the body, is gradually becoming recognized as a significant factor in ageing and for a whole host of diseases including heart disease, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. Various factors have been identified that can lower homocysteine especially the nutrients folic acid, Vitamins B6 and B12 and Trimethlyglycine (TMG) and also physical exercise.

What is the difference between food allergy and intolerance? Classical food allergy (IgE antibody-mediated) is an inappropriate and harmful response of the body's immune system as it mistakes perfectly normal substances and treats them as invaders. An allergic reaction can occur quite rapidly, often within minutes but generally within a maximum of two hours.

In last month's Scientific Bulletin I mentioned that, together with the University of York, we have just completed a literature review of clinical studies from all over the world that have looked at the role for measuring food-specific IgG; the method we use for our foodSCAN testing services. I am delighted to say that this review will be published in the journal "Nutrition and Food Science" on the 19th September 2008.

Since 2004, when Wendy Atkinson and the team at University of South Manchester published the first Randomised Control Trial using YorkTest FoodScan in IBS, the flood gates have opened in terms of research into a role for food-specific IgG based elimination diets.