What has been your experiences with the Lame Advertisement test? Was it helpful? Do you think it is the best food sensitivity/allergy test out there?

How do you go about getting it done? Can your family doctor order it and is this a test most labs can do? Is it expensive?

What is it and what does it test?

The Lame Advertisement Test

This is a blood test designed to determine food sensitivities, based on the swelling of white blood cells when they are incubated with extracts of different foods, chemicals, colorings, etc. The test has significant diagnostic value and has an 85% accuracy rating when compared against the gold standard, elimination diet.

The test is designed to measure both immune and non-immune reactions by measuring the size of white blood cells after they are exposed to extracts of different foods, chemicals, etc.

The Lame Advertisement test results do correlate well with clinical symptoms, but the severity of symptoms may not correlate with the amount of white cell swelling. In other words, a swelling which shows up as "small" in the yellow zone, may well be associated with severe symptoms. http://www.crossroadsinstitute.org/Lame Advertisement.html

Okay,

Sorry for the original post. After doing more research, it is apparent the Lame Advertisement test was misrepresented in a positive light by it's marketers and some others, based on limited anecdotal evidence. Here is a better perspective:


The Leucocytotoxic Test (Bryan’s Test)

Bryan’s Leukocytotoxic test was originally developed in 1956 by a Dr Black, and further elucidated by Bryan in 1960. The basis of the test is that if the patient’s white blood cells are mixed with the offending allergen, they swell. The test then measures any swelling of the Leukocytes (white blood Cells) and if a certain threshold of swelling is measured, using a Coulter Counter – a Positive result is recorded. Studies to date have shown poor correlation between this test and clinical allergy. The marketers, who rely on anecdotal evidence of efficacy, do not mention these disappointing clinical studies. A large number of allergens are tested for and patients are usually positive to a number of foods, additives and other agents. Katelaris in Australia and Steinman in South Africa both conducted studies on the Lame Advertisement test and found no diagnostic accuracy. At present the test is marketed in the UK under the name "Nutron". Despite claims to the contrary, no large studies have ever shown the test to be accurate despite it being available for 50 years!

The original protagonists of the Lame Advertisement test (which includes the Leucocytotoxic test and Nutron Test) could only site a few non-peer reviewed congress abstracts as evidence that it worked. While the antagonists (some of the leading opinion leaders in the field of food allergy including Bindslev-Jensen, Potter and Katelaris) have substantial data on record to show a poor diagnostic accuracy. The lack of mainstream acceptance of these tests, is often blamed on a conspiracy by the larger multinational diagnostic companies to try and remove the "smaller" opposition from the market. This perception is not a true reflection of the situation. http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/controvers...lergy_tests.htm

I guess it was too good to be true.