The invention includes novel methodology for diagnosing immunologic food
or drug sensitivities. The method for diagnosing food sensitivities
includes using diagnoses of other related disorders, such as microscopic
colitis or other chronic immunologic/autoimmune syndromes, chronic
diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatitis C and other hepatic
diseases, Crohn's disease, alcoholism, and other idiopathic
neuropsychiatric and neurologic disorders, as indicators in the diagnosis
of the food sensitivity. Additionally, failure to respond to or a relapse
after treatment for microscopic colitis with bismuth subsalicylate is
disclosed by the present invention as being a further indicator in the
diagnosis of immunologic food sensitivity. Finally, the presence of
certain HLA-DQ alleles, particularly HLA-DQ1,3; -DQ1,7; -DQ1,8; and
-DQ1,9, HLA-DQ1,1, and at least two subtypes of the HLA-DQ1 allele
identified by molecular analysis as HLA-DQB1*0501 and HLA-DQB1*0602, as
indicators in diagnosing immunologic food sensitivity, particularly
gluten sensitivity or celiac sprue, and in diagnosing the related disease
of microscopic colitis and other autoimmune disorders is also disclosed
by the invention. A method for food sensitivity panel testing (for
sensitivities other than gluten sensitivity) by detecting IgA antibodies
in serum is also disclosed. A method for testing stool samples for the
presence of particular antibodies, which is more sensitive and less
invasive than prior art testing methods, is also disclosed for diagnosing
immunologic food sensitivities. These methods of diagnosis may be used
alone or in combination to further enhance the accuracy of diagnosis.