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Son's Celiac Blood Test

CMCM

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CMCM Rising Star
CMCM
Posted

Since my son had hit his insurance deductible in Dec. and he was having a cholesterol etc. test done as part of a yearly exam, I had the doctor throw in the celiac panel since it would cost next to nothing at that point. He wrote "celiac panel" on the form. When I got to the lab, they wanted to know more specifically, and he said antibody test, basically. So here's what I see on the form with his negative results:

Gliadin AB IgA 4 (negative is <11)

IgA, SERUM 294 (Reference was 81-463 mg/dL) WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS???

(tTG) Ab, IgA <3 (where negative is <5)

Does any of this make sense to those of you who are familiar with the various celiac blood tests? I don't think this is a complete test. It makes no sense to me.

Also...if this is incomplete, why on earth do the labs do it this way????? :angry::angry::angry:

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tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

It's not the full panel, but it's not bad. That second test is the total serum IgA. You need to know that in order to be able to properly read the anti-gliandin IgA and tissue transglutimase IgA. All of those came back in normal ranges, denoting that he has no serum markers for celiac disease. He may still find gluten causes him problems, but the blood doesn't contain a lot of antibodies in him right now.

Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel--24
Posted

Its not the complete panel but it does include the most important tests. The IgG is missing but that is the least specific for Celiac....meaning if its positive it doesnt mean Celiac....but definately an intolerance. The EMA is missing but I think the tTG is the better of the two. The total serem IgA is important because it tells you that you're son is not IgA deficient which could lead to false negatives if he was deficient.

CMCM Rising Star
CMCM
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the input! He doesn't really have any symptoms...I just took the opportunity to get in a cheap test since he was having a blood draw for the other things, just to see. I think I'll get him the Enterolab gene test, just to see what it shows....so he'll know whether to be suspicious later on in life in case something comes up.

2Boys4Me Enthusiast
2Boys4Me
Posted

Maybe you guys can help me, too. Ty just had his follow up yesterday with the pediatric GI doc. I asked the nurse for a copy of the lab work. Ty's tests were ordered by a pediatrician, mine & Walker's by our family doc, and Glenn's by his doctor. Ty was tested in July, Walker & I in August and Glenn in September. Only Walker and I went to the same lab to get the blood drawn, I have no idea where it gets tested...ie if each lab tests on premises or if they get driven to a central testing lab or what.

Glenn (Dad)

proteins & serology

immunoglobulin A result 2.54 reference range 0.60 - 4.20 g/L

anti-endomysial antibodies negative

screened at a titre of 1 : 2.5

Linda (Mom)

immunoglobulin A result 1.73 reference range 0.60 - 4.20 g/L

anti-endomysial antibodies negative

screened at a titre of 1 : 2.5

Walker (Big brother)

immunoglobulin A result 1.21 reference range 0.40 - 2.80 g/L (ref. range changed because he's smaller??)

anti-endomysial antibodies negative

screened at a titre of 1 : 2.5

Ty (has celiac disease)

immunoglobulin A not tested or else if tested result not in the file

anti-endomysial antibodies 1 : 160

screened at a titre of 1 : 2.5

The nurse suggested that they didn't do the immunoglobulin A because the anti-endomysial antibodies were so high.

Thoughts? Ty doesn't really have any GI symptoms, underweight and anemic (well...he shouldn't be anymore), but the doctor was pleased with results since September...Ty has moved up the scale from scrawny to skinny (doctor's words) his belly is gone, can't see the edge of his scapula on his back anymore, he's gained three & 1/2 pounds and 3/4" taller. The doctor didn't want to do a follow up blood test because he says that he is happy with the progress Ty has made and it was encouraging to me that he thought we were doing a decent job with the diet because of the results indicated by the external exam and suggested that if the diet IS working, as he thinks it is, he doesn't want a over eager lab tech to spot a "residual background glow" instead of the antibody glow and then the tech will feel obliged to report it and we'd get a false positive on the followup blood test. I still wish he'd done it so I could the numbers, but I didn't push it because he and the other doctor seemed so pleased with the progress so far.

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    • captaincrab55
      Finding gluten free ingredients

      By captaincrab55 · Posted

      Imemsm, Most of us have experienced discontinued, not currently available or products that suddenly become seasonal.   My biggest fear about relocating from Maryland to Florida 5 years ago, was being able to find gluten-free foods that fit my restricted diet.  I soon found out that the Win Dixie and Publix supper markets actually has 99% of their gluten-free foods tagged, next to the price.  The gluten-free tags opened up a  lot of foods that aren't actually marked gluten-free by the manufacture.  Now I only need to check for my other dietary restrictions.  Where my son lives in New Hartford, New York there's a Hannaford Supermarket that also has a gluten-free tag next to the price tag.  Hopefully you can locate a Supermarket within a reasonable travel distance that you can learn what foods to check out at a Supermarket close to you.  I have dermatitis herpetiformis too and I'm very sensitive to gluten and the three stores I named were very gluten-free friendly.  Good Luck 
    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

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    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      So you're saying that you think you should have severe intestinal damage since you've had the symptoms so long?   DGP IgG antibodies are produced in response to a partial gluten molecule.  This is different than what tissue transglutaminase antibodies are  produced in response to.   TTg IgA antibodies are produced in the intestines in response to gluten.  The tTg IgA antibodies attack our own cells because a structural component in our cell membranes resembles a part of gluten.  There's a correlation between the level of intestinal damage with the level of tTg antibodies produced.  You are not producing a high number of tTg IgA antibodies, so your level of tissue damage in your intestines is not very bad.  Be thankful.   There may be reasons why you are not producing a high quantity of tTg IgA antibodies.  Consuming ten grams or more of gluten a day for two weeks to two months before blood tests are done is required to get sufficient antibody production and damage to the intestines.  Some undiagnosed people tend to subconsciously avoid lots of gluten.  Cookies and cakes do not contain as much gluten as artisan breads and thick chewy pizza crust.  Anemia, diabetes and thiamine deficiency can affect IgA antibody production as well.   Do you carry genes for Celiac?  They frequently go along with EDS.
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      High DGP-A with normal IGA

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