Method and apparatus for distinguishing crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis and other gastrointestinal diseases by detecting the presence of fecal antibodies to saccharomyces cerevisiae

An assay for determining the concentration of endogenous anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies, the assay comprising:

• obtaining a human fecal sample;
• diluting the fecal sample;
• contacting the sample with extract of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to create a treated sample;
• contacting the treated sample with enzyme-linked polyclonal antibodies to create a readable sample;
• determining the optical density of the readable sample at 450 nm;
• generating a purified anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies standard curve;
• and
• comparing the optical density of the readable sample to the standard curve to determine the concentration of endogenous anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in the fecal sample.

A diagnostic assay for diagnosing Crohn's disease by determining the level of endogenous anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies, the assay comprising:

• obtaining a human fecal sample;
• diluting the sample;
• contacting the sample extract Saccharomyces cerevisiae to create a treated sample;
• contacting the treated sample with enzyme-linked polyclonal antibodies to create a readable sample;
• adding an enzyme substrate for color development;
• and
• determining the optical density of the readable sample at 450 nm to determine whether the readable sample contains an elevated level of endogenous anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies as compared to a reference value for healthy control subjects.

A kit for diagnosing Crohn's disease by testing a fecal sample from a person to be diagnosed, the kit comprising:

• one or more microassay plates, each the plate containing extract Saccharomyces cerevisiae;
• enzyme-linked polyclonal antibody to human anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies;
• and
• enzyme substrate for color development.