Opinions Regarding Blood Test Results For My 4 Year Old Son

[kimj612]

I am new here, but hoping to find some helpful answers. Our dr. ordered an immune panel back in January because my son kept getting sick over and over again. It started in Sept, 2011. I sent him to preschool for the first time and he kept coming down with cold /allergy symptoms as well as developed sinus and ear infections. I just thought it  was normal immune response at first. In March 2012 he got really sick and he ended up having a positive mono test (no one else in his school had it). After allergy symptoms continued, we took him to an allergist and he was tested for some common indoor/outdoor allergens (skin test) but all cam back negative. He continued to have upper respiratory issues unless he was on an antibitic. At the holidays he got very sick again (like when he had mono) and I became very concerned. High fevers of 103-104 for several days in a row, dark circles under eyes, sleeping all day, etc. They put him on another antibiotic. He cleared up while he was on it, then came down with a 103 fever the day after his last dose. I took him back to the doctor 2 days later and when flu and strep came back negative, he ordered an immune panel. The Celiac test was part of that panel. Here are the results:

 

IgA total, serum: 255.89       Normal range= 30-210

TTG: 42             Normal range= 0-15

Deaminated Gliadin Antibody IgG: 16    Normal range= 0-19

Deaminated Gliadin Antibody IgA: 12     Normal range= 0-19

 

I am most confused by the IgA total, serum and deaminated gliadin antibody IgA results. Why is one elevated, and one is normal? The Dr. seriously suggested we stop gluten, which he has been gluten free for almost 2 months now, with 2-3 accidental glutenings. He also had low Vit. D level and positive for the homozygous MTHFR C mutation (not sure if anyone is familiar with this, but is linked to autoimmune disease). He is still having allergy type symptoms and has had several cold sores and mouth ulcers since the results. Also has had strep and ear infection too. I am getting foodsensitivity panel draw for him on Monday, because I suspect leaky gut...

 

Does anyone have any wisdom or guidance for me here? We have opted to not do the biopsy because our dr did not think it was necessary.

 

Sorry so lengthy! Thanks for any help!

[nvsmom]

Welcome to the board.

 

The total serum IgA test is actually not a celiac test. It is just a test to determine if you have adequate levels of IgA to do the other IgA tests (ttg IgA, EMA IgA, DGP IgA) that do test for celiac. I don't believe slightly elevated IgA levels mean anything but I am not knowledgable in that area.

 

His ttg (IgA or IgG?) test is the only positive test, and that test is not the most specific to celiac, meaning a positive test could be caused by something else. If I remember correctly, the ttg IgA test is about 75% specific to celiac, so the other 25% of the time a positive result is from something else (like a previous or current infection or another autoimmune disorder).

 

So basically, a positive ttg Iga usually signifies celiac, but not always.  EBV can often kick start an autoimmune disorder, so it could have begun his celiac. I don't know if EBV can cause a positive ttg IgA without celiac being present.

 

Was he gluten-free when he was tested or did he go gluten-free after the fact? If he was gluten-free before testing, that could cause a false negative in the tests, and will eventually cause a negative biopsy.

 

Have you had him checked for candida? All those antibiotics can cause and overgrowth of yeast/fungus which can result in a vicious cycle of increased infections, then more antibiotics (which kills off the good bacteria) resulting in increased fungus causing increased infections.... It might be something to check into.

 

I hope someone else here can help you; there are some very knowledgable people around here who are generous with their help.  Best wishes.