|
Study Demonstrates Superiority of Allergy
Blood Test
10/16/2000
OLATHE, Kan. (October 16, 2000) -- Millions of Americans
suffering from allergy-like symptoms may benefit by taking
a cue from their European and Japanese counterparts and
asking their physician for a simple blood test to see if
their symptoms are being caused by allergies. If they are
allergic, the blood test can specify what the causal allergens
are.
The test – the ImmunoCAP® Allergy Blood Test – is
widely used in Europe and Japan and is a safe, effective
and reliable alternative to traditional allergy testing methods.
According to a study published in the June issue of the Journal
of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the Pharmacia Diagnostics
ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test is the preferred blood
test for determining the presence of specific allergies.
The study reported in June was conducted by researchers
in Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia, and compared the
Pharmacia test and other available allergy blood test technologies
with the ideal standards. The results demonstrated superior
reliability and accuracy with the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE
blood test.
In blood testing for allergy, a blood sample is taken from
the patient and sent to a laboratory where it is analyzed
for antibodies called immunoglobulin E, or IgE, to different
allergens, providing evidence that a specific allergy exists.
In this study, the ImmunoCAP technology-based system was
compared to four other blood tests, including older radioallergosorbent
(RAST™) technology, once considered the standard for
allergy blood testing.
According to lead investigator P. Brock Williams, Ph.D.,
Director of Research at IBT Reference Laboratory in Lenexa,
Kan., results of the study clearly show that data from different
blood assay systems are not interchangeable. The study concluded
that the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test is clearly superior
to the others, providing a reliable and accurate result.
"Only the Pharmacia system was capable of measuring
specific IgE antibodies over a large range with precision
and accuracy for the allergens studied," Dr. Williams
stated. "As new allergy treatments are being developed
which rely on accurate measurement of IgE, broader use of
laboratory or in vitro methods for assessing allergen susceptibility
will depend upon the reliability of the tests themselves."
In the study, sera were diluted and measured into blindly
coded vials. These were then shipped to six laboratories,
using five different testing methodologies. These included:
Allergy Testing Laboratories, using a modified RAST methods
(A-RAST); Allercare, using Diagnostic Products Corporation’s
AlaSTAT (A-STAT) test; Commonwealth Medical Laboratory, using
a Hycor Biomedical modified RAST test; Laboratory Corporation
of America, using a modified Hycor Biomedical RAST test (L-RAST);
IBT Reference Laboratory, using the Pharmacia CAP System™,
and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, using the Pharmacia
CAP System.
The serum samples were tested for 17 common allergens,
including cat dander, bermuda grass, timothy grass, white
oak, short and giant ragweed and several common molds and
yeast. Individual laboratory reports were forwarded to an
independent statistical team who broke the code and analyzed
the findings. This team analyzed over 12,000 data points
making the results highly statistically significant.
Results from only two laboratories – the two using
Pharmacia’s ImmunoCAP® technology – did not
differ significantly from the ideal expected results. Results
from the diluted samples revealed not only a significant
difference between laboratories and methods, but also significant
differences for the same allergens at the same lab.
While most patients in the U.S. suspected of having allergies
still undergo traditional skin (scratch) testing from allergy
specialists, doctors in many European countries and Japan
are today routinely using blood tests, such as the ImmunoCAP
technology-based system on a daily basis. Advantages of blood
testing, in addition to decreased discomfort for patients,
include the fact that blood tests can be performed on patients
of all ages, including infants and the elderly.
Blood tests such as the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test
can be ordered by the patient’s primary care physician
(family physician, internist, pediatrician) or by an allergy
specialist, and they offer the opportunity to distinguish
between allergies and other conditions with similar symptoms,
such as colds and other respiratory infections.
For more information about allergies and diagnosis with
the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test, patients may call
1-877-862-4948 or visit the ImmunoCAP Web site at www.isitallergy.com.
Pharmacia Diagnostics, a division of Pharmacia Corporation,
is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, and is a world leader
in in vitro diagnostic research and product innovation. The
U.S. headquarters for Pharmacia Diagnostics is in Kalamazoo,
Mich.
Pharmacia Corporation (NYSE:PHA) is a leading global pharmaceutical
company created through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn
with Monsanto Company and its G.D. Searle Unit. Pharmacia
has a broad product portfolio, a robust pipeline of new medicines,
and an annual investment of more than $2 billion in pharmaceutical
research and development.
|
