The FM/a-Test: Is it Accurate?

The FM/a-test is actually a multi-biomarker based test that examines the immune system's leucocytes production of essential chemokine and cytokine patterns. These types of proteins indicate an abnormal pattern in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. FM/a-test can identify such abnormal pattern, hence diagnosing this medical illness.

The results are usually based on 1 to 100 scoring system. Individuals suffering from fibromyalgia have scores that are higher than 50. This test diagnoses fibromyalgia with a sensitivity of about 99%. It came as a result of clinical studies and research carried out at the University of Illinois.

Who should go for the FM/a-Test?

Any individual with either some or all the symptoms of fibromyalgia can be a candidate for FM/a-Test. This is actually the most accurate blood test that can help one confirm whether he or she is suffering from fibromyalgia. Any person who was diagnosed with this ailment previously can go for this test to find out whether the initial diagnosis was accurate.

It is important to note that fibromyalgia has no unique or single target. Even though it does affect mostly older women, it has been found to affect men as well as children in some cases. This means that any person with chronic symptoms of fibromyalgia, regardless of his or her age, can be a potential candidate for this test. Through the test, a patient and/or his or her doctor can confirm or rule out the suspicion of having fibromyalgia.

How accurate is the FM/a-Test?

The physician who developed this test said that it is more accurate than it was previously thought. He continued to say that the test does confuse this ailment with other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This is simply because there is no overlap between the biomarkers in this condition and immune system patterns of individuals with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

The test looks for proteins called cytokines and chemokines in the blood of an individual being tested. These proteins are usually produced by the white blood cells. Bruce Gills, who is a medical doctor and the founder of EpicGenetics, said that people suffering from fibromyalgia have fewer cytokines and chemokines in their blood and this is why they have a weaker immune system than healthy people.

Some critics argue that it is possible to find the same immune system biomarkers in individuals with other illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis. However, according to a new research involving more than 300 patients with lupus, fibromyalgia, or rheumatoid arthritis, only individuals suffering from fibromyalgia had cytokines and chemokines, which were below the normal levels.

Gillis confirmed that individuals with fibromyalgia cannot have the same biomarkers as those suffering from diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. He continued to say that although FM/a-Test was initially estimated to be 93% accurate, it is actually about 99% accurate. Unfortunately, he also said that the procedure is generally expensive, and many people cannot afford it.

Although the cost of this procedure is generally high, fibromyalgia patients were excited when the procedure was first introduced. They knew that the test would diagnose an ailment that their loved ones and doctors are skeptical of. It is important to know that it would take about 3 to 5 years for an average individual suffering from this disease to be diagnosed.