I no longer run the test service, see options for ordering here. However, I have left the test info up for you as there’s a lot of good advice here. Hope it helps!
Check out these factsheets to start with and see if anything sounds like you: Stress, Anxiety & Depression, Pyroluria, Histamine Imbalance, SAD. OK, if it does, here’s how to test…
Cognition/Dementia/Alzheimer’s Tests
There are lots of ways of testing for cognitive issues, see my Brain Factsheet here for ideas.
The best way to proceed with this if you have a family history of dementia/Alzheimer’s especially, or your cognition tests on the factsheet above are a bit poor, I think, is to read Dr Bredesden’s book The End of Alzheimer’s here.
Colabs do all the Bredesden test panels here.
For prevention, use the PreCode Panel, see more info and a sample report here.
If symptoms have already started, the best test is the full Recode Panel. See more info and a sample report for here.
You can do repeat 6 month and 12 month panels too, which is recommended. I’ve listed the main panels, but if you need one of the others, just ask me/send me a lab test request form and I’ll confirm the price etc..
You can find a Bredesden protocol practitioner here, although it didn’t seem to work well for the UK, so maybe Google in your area too.
Neuro Autoimmune Antibodies
The Cyrex Alzheimer’s Linx test is also brilliant for finding possible causes of cognitive decline and can help you target treatment very specifically to address anything found. It is looking really for anything that is causing immune responses that can trigger or exacerbate brain decline. You can read a great guide to it here. They are testing the highest risk factors known (to date!) to be contributing factors that may result in neurodegeneration, cognitive decline and/ or Alzheimer’s disease.
Look at the Cyrex 5 or 7x on the Cyrex page, plus the Cyrex 20 for blood brain barrier permeability ie. leaky brain.
Neurotransmitters
In general the Labrix Neurotransmitter Basic will be enough for most people. It covers the key neurotransmitters and will answer most questions. If you want more advanced, you would choose the DD Comprehensive Neurotransmitters test. For pyroluria use Kryptopyrroles. Histamine is included in the basic and comprehensive panels. All of those can be ordered on the shop here or direct at the lab via those links.
A bit more info…
The Neurotransmitter Basic Test
It can be hard to find what is at the heart of mental health issues. It can involve nutrient imbalance, lack of essential fatty acids, thyroid and adrenal hypofunction, hormones and many other issues.
One big place to begin looking is an imbalance of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA, dopamine etc. Even some chronic pain syndromes like migraine, cluster headaches, fibromyalgia etc can have these imbalances at least as a factor – often a big one.
Here is a useful neurotransmitters rundown which might help. Also, an explanation of when to do first morning, second morning or 24 hour sample.
The most useful test is the Labrix NeuroBasic, which checks levels of the eight most common neurotransmitters including Serotonin, GABA, Dopamine, Adrenalin (sometimes called Epinephrine), Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine, ditto), Glutamate, Glycine, Histamine and PEA (Phenethylamine). It gives you a chance to see, not only if any of those are low or high, but the balance between the ‘inhibitory’ and ‘excitatory’ neurotransmitters. That would explain why someone is either low or acting hyper! It’s all in the balance sometimes.
A very useful test and a good way to monitor progress on treatment too. I have often found people on meds who do this test only to find the neurotransmitter they are trying to target is not the one that’s the problem eg. they’re on a serotonin drug but their dopamine is on the floor! Worth looking.
Neuro Biogenic Amines Comprehensive Test
The Neuro Comprehensive covers everything that the Neurotransmitter Basic does but more markers to show how the enzymes are actually working. In other words, are you not producing them because the various enzymatic pathways including MAO and COMT are not working very well? This can be crucial knowledge, especially in cases where normal treatment is not quite hitting the mark. It’s a deeper look so that treatment can be more targeted if need be. You can also see info on the extra markers here. Do a 24 hour urine sample for this one.
Combining Neurotransmitters with Adrenals and Hormones
Since they all work together and everything affects everything else, it can be a good idea to test adrenal (cortisol and DHEA) and sex hormones (oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone) with neurotransmitters. Check the different pages for more help on Adrenal Tests and Hormone Tests. I like to do them separately in a DUTCH test, but the Labrix Neuro Hormone Complete is a good all-rounder so check that one out.
Pyroluria and Histamine Imbalance
This area is less well-known, but it no less important. Dr Carl Pfeiffer discovered the link between histamine and pyrrole (or pyrole, kryptopyrroles) levels with mental health. Read the Pyroluria and Histamine Imbalance factsheets for more on this. Histamine via urine is included in the tests above.
Testing Tips…
Q: Why is the histamine done in plasma and not whole blood?
A: I am aware that eg. Walsh protocol advises whole blood histamine, but I checked with the labs: “We used to measure whole blood histamine levels but discontinued it in favour of plasma or urine histamine both of which we believe are more sensitive tests for histamine levels (plasma and urine are equally reliable). I know that the Walsh protocol is quite strict on the sample requirements, but in practice we don’t have any problems finding either high or low levels of histamine using the plasma and urine tests.”
Q: Do I need to freeze my kryptopyrrole samples?
A: Always follow the test guidelines, but here is a general reply I got from Biolab years ago in case it helps.
“There’s no harm in freezing kryptopyrrole samples if a patient prefers to do that, but we have looked at this closely and samples left on the lab bench at ambient temperature do not decrease their kryptopyrrole value over a period of 5-10 days. Sensitivity to light and adding ascorbic acid to the sample are more important in terms of kryptopyrrole preservation.
Some people are so concerned about this they even send the samples on dry-ice to us from outside of the UK, but if we leave the samples at ambient temperature and re-test a week later the results are the same. Some other labs measure slightly different compounds (HPL etc) to diagnose pyroluria and it is possible that these compounds are more temperature sensitive.
Freezing doesn’t do any harm, so we welcome frozen samples if the patient/practitioner prefers this option.”
Q: My kryptopyrrole results say they are within reference range yet you have said I may still have a problem. Why?
A: If the symptoms suggest it, may be worth a Zinc & B6 trial to see if it helps symptoms.
Q: Can I do Neurotransmitter testing on children?
A: Yes. Labrix tests can be used for children 0-16.