New- Trying To Decipher Test Results?

[Unichic]

Hello everyone! I'm sure these kinds of results have been posted before (I apologize in advance). I have tried to find info on my own, but coming up with nothing! My husband recently had a physical. I sent him off with a battery of tests. In the list, I included a celiac panel. My husband (just turned 40) has had borderline low testosterone for at least 10 years that we know of. He also has thyroid levels that don't indicate hypothyroidism yet, but hover just under the aace tsh guideline (.3-3), my husband's tsh is always in the 2's. Not terribly indicative of anything YET! Anyway, he also shows possible gluten intolerance symptoms: chronic canker sores, recently a peeling tongue, low vitamin D (even with daily supplementation), bouts of explosive diarrhea, a skin rash that he calls heat rash, low energy, irritable and moody (maybe just due to lower testosterone). He is not overweight whatsoever. He does look rather pale and quite frankly, like he hasn't slept in ages lol. His celiac panel is as follows:

IgA Qn serum 598 range 91-414 HIGH

Delaminates glia fin Abs, IgA 7 range 0-19 is negative

T-transglutimaninase (ttG) <2 range 0-3 negative

With these results, our doctor (she is also a wellness and bio identical doctor) said definitive for gluten intolerance due to the elevated IgA and symptoms, plus low hormone levels. I'm not so sure?? His mother has hypothyroidism, osteoporosis and issues with diarrhea when she eats wheat. Maybe no correlation to gluten intolerance whatsoever, just mentionable. I myself had recent celiac testing since I have Hashimotos's, but my results showed nothing significant. Anyway, my husband is on board with going gluten free, starting yesterday. I'm just wondering if we should just go all in gluten free or have him scheduled for a biopsy (he's going to buck up on that one, I know it lol). Thank you kindly for your help and input!

[nvsmom]

The first test, IgA Qn serum, is the total serum Igag which is a control test. It is not a celiac test.  As I understand it, the IgA is run because 5% of celiacs are low in Iga (much more than the regular population) and a deficiency in IgA means that the celiac tests that do use IgA will have a negative result even when they should be positive.

 

I'm guessing that second test is the deaminated gliadin peptide antibodies (DGP IgA). It's a good celiac test, but yours is negative.

 

Your tTG is negative too... Was it a tTG iGA test?

 

To me, it looks like your control test was high. IgA has to do with mucosal linings and it's thought by some that it will test over active in food sensitivities but it is not a celiac test. The two celiac tests he had done are negative.  I think that means he may have a food sensitivity, and it could be non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI), but he does not have the antibodies that would result in intestinal villi damage that is a defining symptom of celiac disease. - Those with NCGI will have all the same symptoms as a celiac except the villi damage.

 

Based on those results, I would guess that his biopsy would be negative but there are a few people around here who had negative blood work but had a positive biopsy (and vice versa). If he thinks it would be helpful he should go for it. He'll need to be eating gluten 2-4 weeks before the procedure for accurate results - the longer the better.

 

I hope he feels better on the gluten-free diet. Best wishes in whatever he decides to do,

[Unichic]

Thank you for your response! Well, if it isn't gluten intolerance, let's say, should there be concern for that elevated iga? He has not been sick, so it's not that. There's inflammation somewhere in his body, but where?

[nvsmom]

I honestly don't know a lot about elevated IgA. As far I I understand it, it could be an indicator that something is wrong, but it doesn't say what - just that it's in the mucosaal lining.... Frustrating.  

 

This discusses it a bit:

Open Original Shared Link

 

He might as well go gluten-free if he is done testing. NCGI is in 6-30% of the population (6-10% is the number I see quoted the most). It's a common and very real problem and could be contributing to his issues. Gluten enteropathy can cause elevated IgA (I believe) so you could be on the right track. Perhaps after a few months gluten-free, he'll have a better idea if he is NCGI, or one of the rare celiacs with negative blood work.