Only Aga Iga Was High?

[jorona]

Hi, I'm new here and trying to make sense of some lab results I received yesterday. I've had GI problems for about as long as I can remember (I'm 32 now) and every diagnosis that's been given so far has turned out to be wrong or only able to explain part of the problems I have. My new GI doc did a celiac panel that tested tTG, EMA, IgG and antigliadin IgA. The only one that was positive was antigliadin IgA, the normal range cutoff is 30 and mine was 49. He said that means I have celiac, but I was very skeptical that only one marker out of those 4 could give a definitive diagnosis and told him as much. So I requested more tests and he ordered the DQ2/DQ8 test and I will hear back on that next week.

 

Is it possible to have celiac with only the AGA IgA being high? Is there anything else he should be doing as far as tests? The crappy thing about my situation is that I'm losing my insurance on Monday due to divorce so the amount of time I have to look further into this is limited. I guess a trial on gluten-free diet would probably be my best bet after insurance runs out? Thanks!

[cavernio]

Yes you have celiac disease. IgA's the most recent, most valid test for it. They measure other tests because not all celiacs will be positive for the same things, eg: you might always have a low IgA, some genetic thing, in which case even with celiac disease it would be below the cut-off.

It's very confusing, but there's a ton of reading you can do , especially on this site, that explains the differences between all the tests and why some will be negative.

 

I think a more important question would be, why would your IgA be high if you don't have celiac disease?

[jorona]

Thanks for the reply. I was under the impression that AGA IgA/IgG tests were the oldest tests (from the 70s) and the least clear cut of the tests (EMA and ttG being more reliable indicators of celiac).  If I'm misunderstanding this please let me know. The clearest information I've been able to find is this from another website: "The antigliadin tests are less specific for celiac disease, and these antibodies sometimes show up in other diseases (including gluten sensitivity)." That's why I'm hesitant to accept a celiac diagnosis from just this one AGA IgA positive marker.

[mushroom]

It's true that there's a newer test, the DGP IgA and IgG, with a much greater specificity for celiac and much more sensitive than the tTG in picking up early damage.  You could ask for this test to be run, but even were it not positive I would still be inclined to believe that you are indeed celiac since all it takes is one positive.  What symptoms does celiac not explain for you?

 

Welcome to the forum and I'm hoping you have found your answer.

[Deaminated Marcus]

Hi Jorona,

I'm new too but I've been reading for a while.


You are correct, AGA-IgA and AGA-IgG is the older Celiac test.

In fact when I went to do the Celiac panel last week I was also supposed to be doing the AGA-IgA and AGA-IgG
but the lab no longer offered them and they told me it's now only DGP instead of AGA.

AGA-IgA and AGA-IgG is now used to test for Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity when it's available.
Still it's good news that you now know that you have Gluten sensitivity.

 

Here is the up to date Celiac blood test panel::

TtG-IgA Transglutaminase IgA AB
DGP-IgA Deaminated Gliadin IgA
DGP-IgG Deaminated Gliadin IgG

and:     Total IgA  (to make sure your body is producing enough of the IgA immunoglobulin)

 

The above Celiac panel covers all the bases as some people test positive for one or 2 and not another.