Methods for characterizing immune diseases are provided which include
exposing a sample of biological fluid from a patient to a pooled
population of particles, wherein a first subset of particles is bound to
a reactant that binds an antibody and a second subset of particles is
bound to a reactant that binds an antigen. The methods further include
determining a ratio of measured amounts of the antibody and the antigen
in the sample. In some cases, the ratio is compared to one or more
standard ratios representing differing states of the disease to determine
a state of the disease within the patient. In other embodiments, the
steps of exposing and determining a ratio of antibody to antigen are
repeated for one or more additional samples of biological fluid taken
from the patient. In such cases, at least two ratios are compared to
analyze a progression of the disease.