Immune Health Check Up
Your immune system helps protect your body from foreign or harmful substances. Examples are bacteria, viruses, toxins, cancer cells, and blood or tissues from another person. The immune system makes cells and antibodies that destroy these harmful substances. A healthy immune system is also vital for healthy aging as immune cells are also responsible for removing senescent cells which allows for healthy tissue turnover.
If the immune system loses its balance it becomes increasingly unable to fulfil its primary task of protecting the integrity of the system and the body succumbs to various illnesses. A well-known, dramatic effect of immune health malfunction are today’s increasing incidents of auto-immune diseases and even rising cancer rates.
At ImmuneCells21 we provide a range of standard and specialty tests designed to look at key factors that indicate the function of the immune system and your overall immune health status.
Available Immune Tests
Immune Health Check-Up
The immune system check-up is used to analyse the condition of the body’s defence system. The immune system is composed of many interconnected parts and is thus sometimes referred to as an ‘immune system network’.
If the organism becomes imbalanced, the body initiates an immune response in an attempt to compensate. Simple tests can demonstrate the immune system’s efficacy. At times, the issues may be more complex – in such cases we offer special diagnostic tests.
Natural Killer Cell Activity
Natural killer cells within our bodies have the ability to detect when other cells have undergone tumor transformation and destroy those transformed cancer cells.
NK cells have the ability to identify and to eliminate cancer cells, pathogens, including viruses with high efficiency. As humans we have an average level of NK activity which is regarded as healthy, low functioning NK activity is associated with higher risks of cancer and lower immune protection.
Cancer Biomarkers
A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body.
A Tumor marker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the presence of cancer. Different types of cancers release different substances which can be identified and measured from a simple blood sample. During cancer treatments, tumor markers can be used as one monitoring aspect.
Circulating Tumor Cells
CTCs are cancer cells that have broken away from the primary tumor and have entered the bloodstream where they circulate and have the potential to generate metastatic disease.
The CTC test provides information about the presence of Circulating Tumor Cells, their concentration, and immunophenotype, which may help to identify their origin.
Chronic Inflammation Markers
Chronic inflammation has been linked to certain diseases such as heart disease or stroke, and may also lead to autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
The test is focused on three specific biomarkers for inflammation, CRP, IL-8, and TNF-α.
Food Intolerance
It is very common for patients to feel as if they have food allergies or food intolerances/sensitivities. It is important to understand though, that allergies are very different than intolerances or sensitivities.
With a food allergy, the body is making a complete immune response to the food, and this can be dangerous. With an intolerance or sensitivity, the body may just be making a partial response to the food.