Is it important to use experienced laboratories for reliable test results?**

Vijay Kumar, M.D., Research Associate Professor at the University of Buffalo and President and Director of IMMCO Diagnostics: Absolutely yes. For the test to provide meaningful results, it must be validated using a large number of clinical documented subjects. In addition, the two tests, endomysial and reticulin are immunofluorescent tests where the readings are subjective. Experienced laboratory personnel are needed to read such tests.

Karoly Horvath, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Peds GI Nutrition Laboratory; University of Maryland at Baltimore: There are several advantages to use a laboratory experienced with the celiac serological tests:

• Technically, the test are more reliable, and the internal and external control of tests are better established than in laboratories where the celiac disease serology panel is only one of the routine tests
• More importantly, laboratories specialized in celiac serological testing have larger numbers of positive and negative samples to validate their tests and they are able to set up more accurately the negative, intermediate and pathologic values
• A laboratory specialized in these tests generally has a clinical background, and the physicians with experience in celiac disease may help in the interpretation of the results and they are happy to consult with other physicians and they can answer the questions of patients.