Mixed Data On Acceptable Iga And Igg

[thomasjshook]

Is anything above 0 a sign of sensitivity or Celiac?  I quit Gluten 6 days before the testing and noticed quite a bit of mucus in my stool afterward.  Here are my results:

 

 

Name   Value   Reference Range Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum   49   91-414 mg/dL Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgA   2   0-19 units Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgG   4   0-19 units t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA   <2   0-3 U/mL t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgG   <2   0-5 U/mL

 

I've read that anything above 0 is confirmation, as the antibodies wouldn't exist without sensitivity or intolerance.  In other places, I've read low amounts are acceptable.  Some data ties low Immuno A to Celiac as well.  Any insight and/or resources would be much appreciated!  

[kareng]

Is anything above 0 a sign of sensitivity or Celiac?  I quit Gluten 6 days before the testing and noticed quite a bit of mucus in my stool afterward.  Here are my results:

 

 

Name   Value   Reference Range Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum   49   91-414 mg/dL Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgA   2   0-19 units Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgG   4   0-19 units t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA   <2   0-3 U/mL t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgG   <2   0-5 U/mL

 

I've read that anything above 0 is confirmation, as the antibodies wouldn't exist without sensitivity or intolerance.  In other places, I've read low amounts are acceptable.  Some data ties low Immuno A to Celiac as well.  Any insight and/or resources would be much appreciated!  

 

 

I have never seen that in any reliable Celiac info.  Could you please share your

scientific/medical source?  Right now, tests have a postive range and a negative range.

[nvsmom]

I don't believe anything above a zero is positive.  These antibodies exist in our bodies but the level is usually very low and not doing damage.  This will be true of most autoantibodies and hormones... Think of a pregnancy test - a woman always has the hormones but the amounts shift radically while pregnant and will give a positive test.

 

Unfortunately there is no black and white test.  Celiac is very grey.  Even the biopsy can show damage but it isn't called celiac disease until the damage hits a certain level.  KWIM?

 

Because your serum IgA is low, that means that all of your IgA based celiac disease tests (tTG IgA, DGP IgA) are not reliable - they could be false negatives.  About 5% of celiacs are low in IgA (which affects their test results); being low in IgA can be an indicator of celiac disease in some as only about 1 in 700 of the regular population is low in IgA.

 

You will need to rely on IgG based celiac disease tests or the biopsy.  Your tTG IgG was negative, but that test's sensitivity is below 50%, which means it can miss over half of all celiacs.  Open Original Shared Link The DGP IGG is a much more reliable test, with a sensitivity between 75 and 95%. (page 12: Open Original Shared Link)  You went gluten-free 6 days before testing, but because that was such a short time gluten-free I doubt it brought your results down that far.  The only way to be sure would be to go back on gluten for a few weeks and then retest.  Normally you need to eat gluten 2-3 months prior to testing for accurate tests.

 

If you strongly suspect celiac disease, you may want to request the biopsy. Seronegative celiac disease does happen in a small minority of celiacs.

 

Best wishes.

[thomasjshook]

I have never seen that in any reliable Celiac info.  Could you please share your

scientific/medical source?  Right now, tests have a postive range and a negative range.

Hello kareng,

 

A book I'm reading, The Doctor's Guide to Gastrointestinal Health..., mentions the antibodies would be present if some type of sensitivity or Celiac exists.  I have come across others mentioning the presence of any detection should cause alarm.  

 

nvsmom,

 

Thank you very much for the insight!  I'll ask my doctor about the other test you recommended.  I should learn more from biopsy results due back 6/15/15.  I had an Upper Endoscopy last week.

 

I'm not sure why the formatting was distorted, as it looked fine when I submitted it.  I'll attempt to remove it from the table here:

 

Name                                                   Value        Reference Range 

Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum               49             91-414 mg/dL

Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgA                  2                0-19 units

Deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgG                 4                0-19 units

t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA               <2                 0-3 U/mL

t-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgG               <2                0-5 U/mL

[RMJ]

Is anything above a 0 positive? NO, That is not the way the tests are developed.