During the early weeks of the FLIGHT™ Study, the Program Director, Josie Nelson, and Medical Director, Dr. Heather Tallman Ruhm, helped the family collect specimens for a number of at-home diagnostic tests, and to prepare for two blood draws.
The list of tests utilized in the FLIGHT™ Study is extensive and exceeds what is typically used in a functional medicine practice.
The study has both clinical and research objectives, so lots of data is collected. It is also important that the data collected is done in a way that is minimally invasive and does not create too much stress for participants.
The blood tests include “standard” labs and “specialty” labs that help assess different aspects of the child’s condition.
The FLIGHT™ Study arranges for blood draws to be done at home, to further minimize inconvenience and discomfort for the child and his family.
Many lab tests have been generously donated to the FLIGHT™ Study.
The home test kits included a series of urine tests, stool tests, hair analysis tests, and buccal swabs (saliva/cheek swabs).
Some of the tests used during this part of the study include:
Genova Diagnostics: NutrEval, a comprehensive test for identifying functional nutritional deficiencies and insufficiencies.
Genova Diagnostics: GI Effects, a comprehensive stool test that provides insight into digestive function, intestinal inflammation, and the intestinal microbiome.
Doctors Data: DNA Methylation Pathway Profile, a buccal swab test (a Q-tip is used to take a sample of cheek cells) that is used to identify SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) or genetic variations that might influence a wide range of important biochemical processes such as methionine metabolism, detoxification, hormone balance and Vitamin D function and more.
Doctors Data: GI 360 Essentials Profile, a comprehensive stool test that can be used to detect and assess the status of pathogens, viruses, parasites and bacteria that may be contributing to acute or chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and disease.
Doctors Data: Urine Toxic and Essential Elements, Hepatic Detox Profile, Hair Test, and Urine Porphyrins, tests that look to access the presence of toxins as well as essential mineral status.
Doctors Data: Celiac and Gluten Sensitivity (blood spot), a test that requires just a few drops of blood, but it can help identify individuals predisposed to Celiac & Gluten Sensitivity. The test evaluates the serum titers of IgA and IgG or deamidated gliadin peptide, gliadin, and gluten.
Omegaquant: Omega-3 Index requires just a few drops of blood and can measure the amount of EPA and DHA (essential fatty acids) in the body.
Genomind: Professional pharmacogenetic testing allows practitioners to see what types of medications might be contraindicated for individual patients based on their genetic makeup.
IntellxxDNA: Neurodevelopmental Panel. IntellxxDNA is a clinical decision support tool that provides genomic data and analytics based on gene-to-gene and gene-to-environment interactions through SNP technology.
Sanesco: NeuroLab, a test that allows you to assess adrenal gland and nervous system function for a comprehensive view of the stress response.
Trace Elements: A hair tissue mineral analysis test.
Other assessments, not listed here, may include tests from companies such as Great Plains, Vibrant Health, Cyrex, Galaxy Labs, Illiad Neuroscience, Religen, and Real Time Labs.
Why Is the FLIGHT™ Study Using These Tests?
There are so many great and sophisticated functional tests available today that give insight into unique features of an individual’s make up, or information about what types of imbalances might be present (genetic, metabolic, microbial and more) that can help inform a customized intervention or treatment strategy.
Many of these tests have been donated to the FLIGHT™ Study to allow the study’s clinical team to gather as much information as possible about participants, so that a truly personalized and tailored intervention plan can be generated.
The future of medicine takes a personalized, bioindividual, functional and whole systems approach. The FLIGHT™ Study is doing a deep examination of this type of medicine so that best practices can be established, synergies can be found, and efficiencies can be realized.
Keep following along with the FLIGHT™ Study and you will learn about:
- Ways to identify and mitigate harmful exposures in the home
- Different types of practitioners that help identify treatable underlying imbalances in the body
- Strategies for supporting health and healing
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