Diagnosis and treatment of incipient diabetes

1. A method for aiding in the diagnosis of incipient diabetes comprising measuring concentration of phosphatase in a stool sample from a subject, said stool sample including stool sample supernatant and stool sample suspension, wherein said stool sample is collected at multiple recurring time points, and wherein said measuring comprises:

providing a substrate for phosphatase in a solid or liquid form;

contacting, directly or indirectly, said substrate for phosphatase with the stool sample;

waiting a specified period of time to allow an enzymatic reaction to occur between the substrate for phosphatase and the stool sample;

quantifying a concentration of phosphatase in said stool sample; and

comparing the concentration of phosphatase in said stool sample at an earlier one of the time points to the concentration at a later one of the time points wherein a decrease in phosphatase concentration indicates a presence of incipient diabetes in the subject

or comparing the concentration of phosphatase in said stool sample to a normal range wherein a concentration below the normal range indicates a presence of incipient diabetes in the subject.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said multiple recurring time points comprise daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said subject is a human, cattle, pig, sheep, goat, cow, horse, dog, cat, monkey, rabbit, rat, mouse, chicken, or turkey.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein said subject is a human.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said

quantifying the concentration of phosphatase in said stool sample comprises quantifying the concentration of phosphatase in said stool sample using a spectrophotometer, a biochemistry analyzer, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) machine, a colorimeter, a luminometer or a mechanical, biochemical, electrical or electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said substrate for phosphatase is attached to a solid medium.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said solid medium comprises a membrane, a stick, a bead, a tube, a bottle, a slide, a swab, paper, glass, plastic, or wood.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said membrane is nylon or nitrocellulose.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said stool sample is attached to a solid medium.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said solid medium comprises a membrane, a stick, a bead, a tube, a bottle, a slide, a swab, paper, glass, plastic, or wood.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said membrane is nylon or nitrocellulose.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said substrate for phosphatase comprises p-nitrophenyl phosphate, 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitro blue tetrazolium substrate system, Fast Red TR/Naphthol substrate system, CDP-star substrate (2-chloro-5-(4-methoxyspiro {1,2-dioxetane-3,2′(5′-chloro)-tricyclo [3.3.1.13.7]decan}-4-yl)-1-phenyl phosphate disodium salt) or combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said phosphatase comprises an alkaline phosphatase, intestinal alkaline phosphatase, placental alkaline phosphatase, nonspecific tissue alkaline phosphatase (liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase), germ cell alkaline phosphatase, neutrophil alkaline phosphatase, an acid phosphatase, stool alkaline phosphatase, bacterial alkaline phosphatase, or a peptide with phosphatase activity.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein said phosphatase is intestinal alkaline phosphatase or stool alkaline phosphatase.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein said phosphatase is a native intestinal alkaline phosphatase, a recombinant intestinal alkaline phosphatase, a mutant intestinal alkaline phosphatase, a peptide with intestinal alkaline phosphatase activity, a recombinant peptide with intestinal alkaline phosphatase activity, a native human intestinal alkaline phosphatase, recombinant human intestinal alkaline phosphatase, native calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase or recombinant calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase.