When to run an Organic Acids Test (OAT): An Essential Metabolic Profile

With all this information from one urine sample, how could you not consider assessing this profile for most of your clients. For more information on these sections review 10 Reasons To Do an Organic Acids Test by Kurt Woeller, DO.

Again and again, we’re asked: What conditions are best supported by the OAT? The fortunate news is OAT is beneficial to help diagnose numerous conditions. Because this is a metabolic profile, the results will show you how the person’s body is responding on a metabolic level to any condition they are suffering from. Whether it be a grouping of mysterious symptoms, a confirmed diagnosis of some sort, or a normal life phase like menopause, the OAT guides you in diagnosing and treating a wide range of conditions. To narrow things down there are a few conditions we often see well supported by using this report:

• Autism Spectrum Disorders

• ADHD

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Parkinson’s

• Alzheimer’s

• Cognitive decline

Generalized malaise and fatigue along with chronic pain are conditions for which people often seek support. 

In neurologic conditions like Parkinson’s disease, the Organic Acid Test has shown itself to be helpful repeatedly. When viewing the neurotransmitter section, keep your eye on number 35, the HVA/VMA ratio. This marker assesses the function of the Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase enzyme (DBH). This enzyme converts dopamine to norepinephrine/epinephrine.

Under hypo functioning states many neurologic conditions arise including Parkinson’s disease (5). Genetic polymorphisms in this enzyme’s functionality have been shown to contribute to the development of this diagnosis. DBH deficiency is also linked to Alzheimer’s, PTSD, ADHD, POTS, Depression, Autism (6), and schizophrenia (1). The presence of clostridia toxins in markers 15, 16, and 17 can also block DBH (6). Cases like this cause the same type of symptoms as the genetic disease. In relation to chronic pain, oxalates are highly implicated. Research has linked oxalates to vulvar pain syndrome as an irritant (4). Oxalate crystals also deposit in the joints and other tissues causing irritation and pain (3).

AUTOIMMUNE & DERMATOLOGICAL CONDITIONS & THE OAT

Other conditions that you can glean information from the Organic Acid Test include autoimmune conditions and dermatological complaints. I have seen various cases of eczema be healed as a result of the information revealed in this profile. Often it was due to mold, candida, or other GI bacterial dysbiosis and overgrowth with poor detox abilities and nutritional deficiencies (2). One case showed elevated detox markers with no signs of mold or GI involvement. In this case the child was bathing in contaminated water by a toxin found on the GPL-TOX Profile. Marker 24 was elevated, and this led us to look at that report. Herpes virus recurrence was once a consequence of mold colonization found on the OAT. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and a case of autoimmune alopecia in a child were well supported with the use of the OAT. 

I have also seen a handful of multiple sclerosis and ALS cases. In these cases, various causes and contributing factors have been alluded to and concluded using the OAT. Sometimes mold was the culprit, other times clostridia was involved. In some cases, chemicals and metals were the cause along with mitochondrial impairment. The more we do the OAT in complex diagnoses like these, the more we can make new connections that may not have been available before.