Stool Testing for Gut Health and the Gut-Brain Axis in Charleston, SC

Stool testing offers a range of valuable information on how the gut is functioning. In addition to checking for obvious pathogens like parasites or harmful bacteria, advanced panels such as the GI-MAP and GI 360 assess microbial balance, levels of beneficial versus opportunistic organisms, markers of inflammation like calprotectin, and digestive enzyme activity. By quantifying microbial DNA, specialists at The Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (COEM) can pinpoint whether digestive disruptions stem from infections, imbalances in flora, or gut barrier issues impacting absorption and immunity. By providing a detailed profile of gut microbiota, inflammation, digestion, and immune function, stool tests enable functional medicine doctors to understand the root cause of symptoms. This allows tailored treatment. When reviewed in the context of broader exposures, such as mold or biotoxins, and symptoms tied to immune dysfunction, stool testing becomes even more useful in guiding a targeted approach, especially in patients with complex or neurodevelopmental presentations.

There’s growing evidence that the gut-brain axis links microbial activity with mood and cognition. Metabolites produced by gut bacteria, like short-chain fatty acids, along with inflammation markers, can influence neurotransmitter production, stress responses, and brain-cell health. Gut flora can affect stress resilience, memory formation, and emotional regulation. When functional medicine doctors at COEM analyze stool data, they look at digestion and assess signs of microbial imbalances that may be contributing to brain fog, anxiety, or depression. That insight helps craft interventions aimed at both gut and brain wellness, offering a more holistic path to mental resilience.

This becomes particularly relevant when working with children and adults on the autism spectrum. Symptoms like apraxia, sensory dysregulation, and emotional rigidity can reflect deeper imbalances in the gut ecosystem. By pairing stool data with other functional lab results, the team, including Dr. Stephen P. Elliott, MD, D.A.B.F.M., F.A.A.A.M., F.M.A.P.S., the only MedMAPS-certified physician Fellow in South Carolina, and Dr. William J. Weirs, MD, F.A.A.E.M., who brings decades of experience in mold and biotoxin evaluation, is able to connect environmental and metabolic stressors to ongoing neurobehavioral symptoms. These findings help guide personalized strategies using noninvasive interventions to support both digestive repair and neurological balance.

COEM specialists utilize modern comprehensive stool tests to detect bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and immune and inflammation markers. Other tests, like bile acid profiling and SCFA (short-chain fatty acid) measurement, may help evaluate digestion, fermentation patterns, and gut barrier health. There are also multi-day panels that combine DNA analysis with enzyme, inflammation, and absorption data. Basic testing may include fecal calprotectin for inflammation or assays for leaky gut functions. In some cases, provocation-neutralization allergy testing is included as part of a broader assessment strategy, helping the care team determine which sensitivities may be contributing to gastrointestinal inflammation and which allergens could be compounding neurological symptoms in ASD or other developmental conditions.

Stool panels quantify specific microbial DNA and metabolic byproducts, offering insight into the imbalance between protective and harmful species. COEM specialists interpret these patterns alongside clinical history while considering exposures, symptoms like apraxia or neurodevelopmental features, especially in autism cases, to connect gut findings with mental or neurological issues and adjust care accordingly. This also includes looking at toxicities or mold exposures that may have compromised gut lining integrity or triggered immune responses that now feed into neurological patterns. By incorporating these findings with real-world symptom data, the care team creates strategies that support gut recovery while calming brain-based symptoms, offering a more sustainable long-term outcome for the patient.

Tests like the GI-MAP and GI 360 using quantitative PCR is highly sensitive and specific, allowing reproducible results that reliably reflect microbial shifts. While stool analysis provides detailed snapshots, interpreting its link to mental health still requires clinical correlation, since a brain-gut connection is complex and multidimensional. When stool testing is combined with functional lab work, exposure history, and symptom evaluation, the functional medicine specialists and mold doctors at COEM are able to integrate gut findings into neuroscience-informed treatment plans using modalities like multi-step oxygen therapy and photobiomodulation, targeting both microbial balance and neural support. For individuals on the autism spectrum, whether verbal or nonverbal, this approach can be especially valuable. Collaborations with outside therapists, such as ABA, occupational therapy, and communication-based methods like the SPELLERS Method, help ensure that findings from the gut are translated into functional, real-world support.

Stool testing for gut health is available at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (COEM). For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online. We are conveniently located at 7510 North Forest Drive North Charleston, SC 29420. We serve patients from Charleston SC, Mount Pleasant SC, Summerville SC, North Charleston SC, Goose Creek SC, Ladson SC, Hanahan SC, James Island SC, John’s Island SC, Daniel Island SC, West Ashley SC, Moncks Corner SC, Sullivans Island SC, Folly Beach SC, Isle of Palms SC and all of South Carolina, Nationally, and Internationally. Patients routinely fly into Charleston to be evaluated by COEM and to enjoy this beautiful city, which is a Condé Nast and Travel and Leisure Top Domestic and International Tourist Destination.