Sleep Stress Profile
Gut health impacts overall health. Digestion, immunological function, neuroendocrine function, diet, gut flora, and other factors all have an impact on gut health.
Sample Type
Stool
Methods Used
ELISA, qPCR
Processing Time
14-21 Days
Requirement
Single stool collection
GI-MAP
GI-MAP Plus
Add-On Zonulin
A GI-MAP gut health assessment can benefit almost every patient. Some people want to achieve optimal health, while others have been chronically ill and suffered for years without a diagnosis.
Who Should Have a Comprehensive Stool Analysis Performed?
Disruption of the gastrointestinal microbe may cause:
Gastrointestinal symptoms
Autoimmune conditions
Microscopy and culture-based tests are well-known, but they have limitations in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and ability to identify anaerobic organisms.
The GI-MAP is a comprehensive stool testing. It uses qPCR technology specifically to detect parasites, bacteria, fungi, and more by targeting the DNA of the organisms tested. Unlike other comprehensive stool tests on the market, the GI-MAP gives practitioners with actual quantifiable results.
Unlike other comprehensive stool tests on the market, the GI-MAP gives practitioners with actual quantifiable results.
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Unlike other comprehensive stool tests on the market, the GI-MAP can provide practitioners with truly quantitative results. qPCR offers a much more accurate way to detect and quantify clinically-relevant organisms than standard PCR, culture, microscopy, or DNA sequencing-based methods. Accurately assessing how much of an organism's DNA is present in a patient's stool sample is essential for helping practitioners to determine the clinical significance of pathogenic organisms and dysbiosis patterns.
The GI-MAP® includes pathogens (bacterial, parasitic, and viral) commonly known to cause intestinal gastroenteritis. It's important to note that not all individuals with positive findings for pathogens will present with symptoms. Many factors, including the health of the individual, the transient nature of some pathogens, and the presence and expression of virulence factors all contribute to an individual's symptoms.Toxins are a type of virulence factor produced by certain pathogens. Since GI-MAP is a DNA-based test, results reflect the levels of pathogenic strains carrying the toxin genes, not the levels of any toxins that may be produced.
Campylobacter
C. difficile Toxin A
C. difficile Toxin B
Enterohemorrhagic
E. coli
E. coli O157
Enteroinvasive E. coli/Shigella
Enterotoxigenic
E. coli LT/ST
Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx1
Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx2
Salmonella
Vibro cholerae
Yersinia enterocolitica
Cryptosporidium
Entamoeba histolytica
Giardia
Adrenovirus 40/41Norovirus GI/II
Recent studies have shown that nearly 50% of the world's population may harbor H. pylori. And, although many carriers are asymptomatic, H. pylori is known to have a causative role in ulcers, chronic gastritis, and stomach cancer.Additionally, in early phases of colonization, patients may experience hypochlorhydria followed by a change to hyper aciduria. Over time, additional H. pylori strains may colonize, including those with Virulence Factors and increased disease potential.
Virulence Factor, babA
Virulence Factor, cagA
Virulence Factor, dupA
Virulence Factor, iceA
Virulence Factor, oipA
Virulence Factor, vacA
Virulence Factor, virB
Virulence Factor, virD
Many bacteria measured on the GI-MAP are considered opportunistic pathogens, as they only cause disease and illness in some individuals, particularly the immune-compromised. Many individuals come into contact with opportunistic bacteria and experience no symptoms. Most sources consider these microbes to be normal in the stool. However, they can cause gastroenteritis and inflammation at high levels in vulnerable patients. Symptoms may include diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal pain, or even constipation.Overgrowth and excessive colonization by opportunistic bacteria may occur when the commensal bacteria are impaired by poor diet, antibiotic use, parasitic infection, or a weakened immune system. When intestinal permeability is present (see Zonulin), these microbes could escape the lumen of the gut and infect extraintestinal sites.
Bicillus spp.Enterococcus faecalisEnterococcus faeciumMorganella spp.Pseudomonas spp.Pseudomonas aeruginosaStaphylococcus spp.Staphylococcus aureusStreptococcus spp.
Citrobacter spp.
Citrobacter freundii
Klebsiella spp.
Klebsiella pneumoniae
M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis
Proteus spp.
Proteus mirabilis
Desulfovibrio spp.
Methanobacteriaceae (family)
Enterobacter spp.
Escherichia spp.
Fusobacterium spp.
Prevotella copri
A parasite is an organism that lives and feeds on a host organism at the expense of the host. The GI-MAP tests for pathogenic parasites and protozoa (some of which are non-pathogenic) most commonly occurring in the GI tract. Sources of exposure should be identified and eliminated to prevent reinfection.
Blastocystis hominis
Chilomastix mesnelli
Cyclospora spp.
Dientamoeba fragilis
Endolimax nana
Entamoeba coli
Pentatrichomonas hominis
Ancyclostroma duodenale
Ascaris lumbricoides
Necator americanis
Trichuris trichiura
Taenia spp.
Desulfovibrio spp.Methanobacteriaceae (family)
Enterobacter spp.
Escherichia spp.
Fusobacterium spp.
Prevotella copri
Steatocrit
Elastase-1
β-Glucuronidase
Occult Blood – FIT
Secretory IgA
Anti-gliadin IgA
Eosinophil Activation Protein (EDN)
Calprotectin
Zonulin
The GI-MAP includes results for detection of antibiotic resistance genes in the microbiome. If an antibiotic resistance gene is present, then that class of antibiotics is designated POSITIVE for antibiotic resistance. A positive result for the presence of resistance genes for a given antibiotic indicates that the antibiotic is not an ideal choice for an antibiotic protocol.Antibiotic resistance genes apply to all of the microorganisms found in the fecal sample. Since microbes can rapidly share DNA under stress, the presence of antibiotic resistance in any organism is reason enough to avoid that drug class.
Amoxicillen
Clarithromycin
Fluroquinolines
Tetracycline
Many factors including food sensitivities, infection can contribute to a common GI problem, known as leaky gut. One of the best ways to measure leaky gut is testing Zonulin.Zonulin regulates the tight junction between the intestinal lining cells as the intestinal barrier. If your Zonulin level is elevated, the intestinal wall may becomes more permeable. The things that should not be absorbed to your body may be able to pass through into the bloodstream. In the long run, this condition can trigger inflammation and autoimmunity.
We are the only US laboratory using qPCR for advanced comprehensive stool testing. Clinical and academic research uses this technology because it gives accurate quantification, sensitivity, and specificity. Standard PCR technology lacks sensitivity and numerical precision.GI-MAP readings are repeatable. GI-MAP users depend on reproducibility. We rigorously regulate quality and confirm all molecular target quantification assays to FDA standards.
The GI-MAP's reliability and accuracy allow practitioners to build tailored gut dysfunction treatment strategies depending on which infections are urgent, which gut areas are optimized, and which areas should be addressed after an infection is resolved. Quantification also allows retests following therapy to demonstrate whether parasites have resolved, dysbiosis has improved, and more.
Yes. The GI-MAP is often used in infants and children, and it can provide insight into problems such as ADHD, autism, and digestive issues.
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