Identification, monitoring and treatment of disease and characterization of biological condition using gene expression profiles

A method of providing an index that is indicative of the state of a subject, as to a biological condition characterized by inflammation, based on a sample from the subject, the sample providing a source of RNAs, the method comprising:

• using amplification for measuring the amount of RNA of at least two constituents from arty one of Tables 1 through 12 from the sample of the subject, where a panel of constituents is selected so that measurement of the constituents enables evaluation of said biological condition and wherein the measures of all constituents in the panel form a first profile data set, wherein the measures for each constituent are performed under measurement conditions that are substantially repeatable and the efficiencies of amplification for all constituents are substantially similar;
• and
• applying values from said first profile data set to an index function I=ΣCiMiP(i) where I is the index, Mi is the value of the member i of the profile data set, Ci is a constant, and P(i) is a power to which Mi is raised, the sum being formed for all integral values of i up to the number of members in the data set, thereby providing a single-valued measure of the biological condition so as to produce an index pertinent to the biological condition of the subject.

A method of providing an index that is indicative of the state of a subject as to a biological condition characterized by inflammation based on a sample from the subject, the sample providing a source of RNAs, the method comprising:

• using amplification for measuring the amount of RNA of constituents from the sample of the subject, where a panel of constituents is selected so that measurement of the constituents enables evaluation of said biological condition and the measures of all constituents in the panel form a profile data set, wherein the measures for each constituent are performed under measurement conditions that are substantially repeatable and the efficiencies of amplification for all constituents are substantially similar, and
• applying values from said profile data set to an index function derived using latent class modeling, thereby providing a single-valued measure of the biological condition so as to produce an index pertinent to the biological condition of the subject.