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The DRIA is one of the most important and widely diffused non-conventional tests for the diagnosis of delayed food allergies (food intolerances). In recent years, thanks to continuous scientific research and field implementation, this test has made it possible to successfully address the problem of non-IgE mediated food hypersensitivities. However, in many cases a diagnosis of the classic allergies is also useful.
In many instances, the DRIA test makes it possible to identify an IgE type reaction (i.e. for respiratory allergens) allowing for the formulation of an individualized low dosage (often imprecisely referred to as "low dosage vaccine") hypo-sensitizing therapy. Its clinical action was demonstrated through a series of studies that were accepted for the world conference on allergology in Stockholm in 1994, presented at the Conference on Oral Tolerance of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1995 and published in the annals of this institution, presented at the world conference on Dermatology in Sydney in 1997, at the European conferences on Allergology in Birmingham in 1998 and in Berlin in 2001 and also at the world congress on Allergology in Vancouver in 2003. But, above all, the test provided effective clinical results for the many patients who rely on its conclusions for finding effective solutions for their hypersensitivities. The DRIA test is based on a reflex that is well-known to kinesiologists, that is, the variation of muscular force in the presence of food hypersensitivity. This test was created in order to render this reflex action objective, repeatable, and scientifically provable. Numerous scientific data confirm that it is reasonable to accept a muscular interference as a "sign" of hypersensitivity and to use that "sign" in order to develop an appropriate therapy strategy for the patient's treatment.
When a particular food solution is placed in contact with the oral mucosa, it can cause a drop in muscular force that reoccurs each time that same food is tested and has distinct dynamometric qualities: this variation in force is registered by a computer.
The test is performed in the following manner: the patient is asked to make a controlled effort (with his leg or arm) and while the patient maintains the muscle contraction, a special solution of food or respiratory allergen is placed in his mouth (it need not be swallowed). In this way, all of the principal foods of our common diet are tested: from milk to flour, from egg to meats to oils and the main allergens (mites, molds, Gramineae, candida, yeasts).
In the beginning, it isn't necessary to test a great number of substances: it's important to highlight those foods that are connected with the Great Food Groups in order to create a diet that is in keeping with a patient's daily reality and appropriate for developing immune tolerance. During the test, if a patient is unable to maintain the initial force after a substance (which is undisclosed) has been given to him, the computer registers this variation and after a few seconds (from three to five) of when the substance has been given, it records a drop in the intensity of the muscle contraction. When this occurs, we can suspect the presence of a non IgE mediated food hypersensitivity, that is, an intolerance to the food that was tested. Clearly, before we can consider the test complete, we verify that the drop in force (that must be greater than 10% of the average applicable force), repeats itself in the same manner each time that that substance is tested. The test result is also compared to an inert placebo substance without the patient's knowledge.
In addition to its diagnostic sensitivity, the DRIA test has two great advantages: in the first place, the test makes it possible to identify a specific concentration of the food substance or respiratory allergen that will in turn be useful for therapy and for obtaining hypo-sensitization to the substance and regaining immune tolerance. In the second place, there is the advantage of being able to follow in a precise manner the clinical evolution of each intolerant patient during his path towards the recovery of immune tolerance.
Doctor Attilio Speciani
Clinical Allergist and Immunologist
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