New Blood Test Shows High Accuracy for Diagnosing Fibromyalgia

A new blood test called IsolateFibromyalgia, which uses RNA data to identify fibromyalgia, has been released by IQuity. The Company said that in a study of almost 600 samples from patients who had various medical conditions, IsolateFibromyalgia demonstrated over 90% accuracy. 

IsolateFibromyalgia uses a proprietary technology which utilizes machine-learning algorithms to compare the RNA profile from a patient’s blood to a data set of healthy and sick patients.

A simple blood draw is used to analyze if RNA patterns found in the patient’s sample is consistent with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome. The Company says its method can differentiate from conditions that mimic, or could be misdiagnosed, as fibromyalgia.

Test results are delivered within 7 days of the sample reaching the laboratory.  “Unlike DNA, which can predict the risk of certain diseases, RNA shows what’s taking place right now in a patient’s cells,” said Chase Spurlock, CEO of IQuity.

Currently, the IsolateFibromyalgia test has not obtained licenses for use in California, Florida, and New York.  Other blood tests in the Isolate portfolio include IsolateMS for identifying multiple sclerosis, and IsolateIBS-BD, for irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. 

Researchers published data last year that demonstrated fibromyalgia diagnostic accuracy with 2 digital pressure tests. 

Reference

First RNA-based blood test to detect fibromyalgia introduced by data science company IQuity [press release]. Nashville, TN: PRNewswire; March 6, 2018. Accessed March 20, 2018.

This article originally appeared on MPR