qPCR Testing for GI Pathogens
Methodology Matters in Diagnostic Stool Testing
Our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Brady, is featured on the cover of the January 2021 issue of the Townsend Letter. Read the article, "Methodology Matters in Diagnostic Stool Testing."
Brady and Dooley describe the different methodologies used to evaluate gut health and why qPCR offers the most sensitive, specific, reliable results when addressing acute and chronic gastrointestinal illness in a clinical setting.
Article highlights:
- Molecular Methods Revolutionize Diagnostic Testing
- Methods of Stool Testing Defined
- Culture and Microscopic Methodologies
- Advantages of Quantitative Molecular (qPCR) Technology in Clinical Settings
- Discussion – The Molecular Revolution
- References
Please Note: This button opens the article in a new window on the Townsend Letter site.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Tom Fabian, PhD, and Heather Vatter, PhD, for their technical contributions to this article.
David M. Brady, ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, FMCP-M
Dr. David M. Brady has almost 30-years of experience as an integrative medicine practitioner and over 25 years in health sciences academia. He is a licensed naturopathic medical physician in Connecticut and Vermont, is board certified in functional medicine and clinical nutrition, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and completed his initial clinical training as a doctor of chiropractic...
Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS
Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS, studied medicinal plants in the rain forests of Panama, in 2003 as a Fulbright Scholar, and then launched a career in science and natural medicine. She researched the pharmacology of medicinal plants at the University of Georgia and AptoTec, Inc. She has over 15 years of experience teaching doctors about integrative and functional laboratory results.
At Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory, she analyzes GI-MAP stool tests and develops educational tools. Ms. Nelson-Dooley owns Health First Consulting, LLC, a medical writing, patient education, and consulting firm that serves the integrative and functional medicine industry. Ms. Nelson-Dooley is the author of Heal Your Oral Microbiome and has published case studies, book chapters, and journal articles about natural medicine, nutrition, and laboratory testing.
The opinions expressed in this presentation are the author's own. Information is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for personal advice provided by a doctor or other qualified health care professional. Patients should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing a health or fitness problem or disease. Patients should always consult with a doctor or other health care professional for medical advice or information about diagnosis and treatment.
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- Rappe MS, Giovannoni SJ. The uncultured microbial majority. Annual review of microbiology. 2003;57:369-394.
- Dewhirst FE, Chen T, Izard J, et al. The human oral microbiome. J Bacteriol. 2010;192(19):5002-5017.
- qPCR vs. Digital PCR vs. Traditional PCR. http://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/pcr/real-time-pcr/qpcr-education/qpcr-vs-digital-pcr-vs-traditional-pcr.html.
- Bumgarner R. Overview of DNA microarrays: types, applications, and their future. Curr Protoc Mol Biol. 2013;Chapter 22:Unit 22 21.
- Manser MM, Saez AC, Chiodini PL. Faecal Parasitology: Concentration Methodology Needs to be Better Standardised. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016;10(4):e0004579.
- Garcia LS, Arrowood M, Kokoskin E, et al. Laboratory Diagnosis of Parasites from the Gastrointestinal Tract. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2018;31(1).
- Piralla A, Lunghi G, Ardissino G, et al. FilmArray GI panel performance for the diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis or hemorragic diarrhea. BMC Microbiol. 2017;17(1):111.
- Zhang H, Morrison S, Tang YW. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction tests for detection of pathogens associated with gastroenteritis. Clin Lab Med. 2015;35(2):461-486.