Immumoglobin A

[wonkabar]

OK...specifically, my Immunogloblin A levels were high at 420 (range being 70-400) whatever that means!! Mind you, I'm speaking to the nurse at my OB's office who was, quite understandably ,stumbling through my results...I bet she was happy to get my call!!

Anyway, here are the results as she read them to me, and I read them back. I'm sorry if I'm being a pain in the butt, but I'm just trying to make some sense of this as no one else can right now! I've heard of the first 3 labs but not the Immunogloblin A. Help!

Endomysial Labs

IgA --3 (0-4)

IgG --2 (0-9)

TtG --1 (0-3)

Immunogloblin A --420 (70-400)

The Immunogloblin A level obviously has something to do with Celiac as it was part of the comprehensive panel but what that is I'm really not sure!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mike2184]

I also had elevated Immunoglobulin A on my celiac panel. My GI told me that this has nothing to do with a gluten problem or celiac disease. A low Immunglobulin A can cause the other test results for the antibodies to be skewed. So, if you have low Immunoglobulin A and a negative result for the antibodies - you could still have celiac.

He told me that high Immunoglobulin A just means in most cases that your immune system is working properly. Some people have a naturally high Immunoglobulin A, or your body may have been fighting off an infection.

Again, this is from my GI. My Immunoglobulin A was high and my results of my celiac panel were negative.

[wonkabar]

Do I necessarily need to see a GI doctor then? My OB, obviously, referred me to a GI as this is way out of his league! I don't want to blow this off, but I also don't want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. So confusing............

[mike2184]

I would call your GI just to make sure, but your results look similar to mine.

Mine were:

Endomysial Labs

IgA --1 (0-4)

IgG --5 (0-9)

TtG --1 (0-3)

Immunogloblin A --450 (70-400)

The results on the bottom of the sheet say Negative, and I also talked to my GI after getting the results.

[jayhawkmom]

It looks like a total syrum IgA to me, in which case it rules out IgA deficiency which can cause all other tests to be inaccurate. If your IgA is within range, your other results can be considered accurate.

Here's my results for comparison purposes.... mine were considered "suspicious" by my GI.

tTG IgA (<5) = 3

Gliadin IgG (<11) = 69

Gliadin IgA (<11) = 6

tTg IgG (<7) =3

EMA - Negative

TT IgA = normal = 70-400 = mine was 331

[chrissy]

according to those tests, it does not look like you have celiac disease.

[aikiducky]

...or if you do, it's in early beginning stages and doesn't show on tests yet. Did you have some symptoms, or were you tested because a family member has celiac disease? Sorry I haven't read all posts...

Pauliina

[wonkabar]

...or if you do, it's in early beginning stages and doesn't show on tests yet. Did you have some symptoms, or were you tested because a family member has celiac disease? Sorry I haven't read all posts...

Pauliina

My son is highly symptomatic of celiac disease and is, at the very least, gluten sensitive. (see my sig.) He had a truly amazing dietary response. So, yes it's b/c of a family member.

[Matilda]

..

[wonkabar]

Hi Wonkabar,

It is possible to have a positive biopsy with negative blood tests, especially with milder damage.

I think, for me, how far I pursued this would depend on how strongly I suspected celiac disease.

If I had a family member with celiac disease, and just wanted screening, I would be happy with just blood tests, and would repeat them later on.

If I had symptoms I would ask to see a GI and would expect a biopsy.

Best wishes,

Matilda

Thanks, Matilda! I've suspected Celiac for my little guy since he was about 2 years old. (see my sig.) He's been symptomatic since he was about a year old. He's had an amazing dietary response; we're thankful we identified his issues with gluten at such a young age. As far as I go...clearly Zachary had to get the genes from one of us! That's really why we started the screening process, but neither one of us are overtly symptomatic.

Regarding symptoms...I've learned that there are a bazillion different symptoms related to gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease so it's so difficult to say as I'm not withering away and can function. I had an obscure miscarriage, pre-term labor and premature births with both kids, lots of gas, gi issues a couple times a month after a meal (the "No weight gain on that meal." type of issue ) , numbness/tingling in my hands (specifically right) for no apparent reason and an anxiety disorder. I do feel foggy sometimes, but I associated that to being on Effexor for a year. Sometimes I still get that foggy "Effexor feeling", but I've been off of it for 6 weeks now so who knows what the deal is! I was also symptomatically Dx with an ulcer in my early 20's (I'm 36).....I had lots of gi issues but was going through a really stressful time personally. The numbness, anxiety and foggy feeling have only been present since I've had my kids...they're 3 1/2 and 20 months. I do get severe pain in my back left side that was Dx as gall stones via an ER visit three years ago.

The reality is that these "symptoms" could be absolutely nothing and all very seperate issues. Had I not researched Celiac Disease for my son, I wouldn't have even known these things could be related. Though, the one issue that has always been quite bothersome to me is that I've had very difficult pregnancies that have resulted in pre-term labor and premature births. I've had all sorts of gynocological exams/tests all to no avail. Currently, there is no medical explanation for any of these pregnancy related issues. Again, this is all very confusing...you don't want to overlook anything but you also don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Sorry for being so whinny!!!!!!!!!!

[wonkabar]

Thanks, Matilda! I've suspected Celiac for my little guy since he was about 2 years old. (see my sig.) He's been symptomatic since he was about a year old. He's had an amazing dietary response; we're thankful we identified his issues with gluten at such a young age. As far as I go...clearly Zachary had to get the genes from one of us! That's really why we started the screening process, but neither one of us are overtly symptomatic.

Regarding symptoms...I've learned that there are a bazillion different symptoms related to gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease so it's so difficult to say as I'm not withering away and can function. I had an obscure miscarriage, pre-term labor and premature births with both kids, lots of gas, gi issues a couple times a month after a meal (the "No weight gain on that meal." type of issue ) , numbness/tingling in my hands (specifically right) for no apparent reason and an anxiety disorder. I do feel foggy sometimes, but I associated that to being on Effexor for a year. Sometimes I still get that foggy "Effexor feeling", but I've been off of it for 6 weeks now so who knows what the deal is! I was also symptomatically Dx with an ulcer in my early 20's (I'm 36).....I had lots of gi issues but was going through a really stressful time personally. The numbness, anxiety and foggy feeling have only been present since I've had my kids...they're 3 1/2 and 20 months. I do get severe pain in my back left side that was Dx as gall stones via an ER visit three years ago.

The reality is that these "symptoms" could be absolutely nothing and all very seperate issues. Had I not researched Celiac Disease for my son, I wouldn't have even known these things could be related. Though, the one issue that has always been quite bothersome to me is that I've had very difficult pregnancies that have resulted in pre-term labor and premature births. I've had all sorts of gynocological exams/tests all to no avail. Currently, there is no medical explanation for any of these pregnancy related issues. Again, this is all very confusing...you don't want to overlook anything but you also don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Sorry for being so whinny!!!!!!!!!!

[VydorScope]

Endomysial Labs

IgA --3 (0-4)

IgG --2 (0-9)

TtG --1 (0-3)

Immunogloblin A --420 (70-400)

Just a minor note, I would not consider 420 high. Thats less then 1% over the max. I do not know what the margin for error is on that test, but I would guess its higher then 1%.

If your realy concerned about it, try the diet. You know the diet already thanks to your son... but if your only sympton is pregency issues... your gonna hve to invole your husband

[JenKuz]

IgA is simply one of several kinds of antibody produced by the body. It is the kind produced by the intestinal lining, along with some other mucosal surfaces (the sinuses, for example), and it is the antibody in breast milk. 1 in 500 or so people have a genetic deficiency in IgA, and as other posters said, when testing for levels of specific IgA, many doctors like to ensure that IgA is not globally deficient. Your level means, congrats! You have normal IgA.

As for the other blood tests, they are essentially inconclusive, and you have to decide whether you want to pursue further testing or experiment with diet.

[wonkabar]

IgA is simply one of several kinds of antibody produced by the body. It is the kind produced by the intestinal lining, along with some other mucosal surfaces (the sinuses, for example), and it is the antibody in breast milk. .

Thanks for the scientific explanation! I had no idea what it was or where it came from...now it makes sense! "Normal" isn't a bad thing!

[wonkabar]

As for the other blood tests, they are essentially inconclusive, and you have to decide whether you want to pursue further testing or experiment with diet.

Question....(it might be a stupid one!)

In GI-land what's the difference, if any, b/t negative lab results and inconclusive lab results? Are there people who actually get "0"s for all of their levels? Also, were there any other labs that should've been a part of this panel?? I know these areprobably really basic questions to many of you so I do appreciate your patience!

[JenKuz]

Question....(it might be a stupid one!)

In GI-land what's the difference, if any, b/t negative lab results and inconclusive lab results? Are there people who actually get "0"s for all of their levels? Also, were there any other labs that should've been a part of this panel?? I know these areprobably really basic questions to many of you so I do appreciate your patience!

My impression is that the blood test is very specific and not very sensitive at all, meaning there are very few false positives but plenty of false negatives. So for these, negative may be more or less the same thing as inconclusive. Now if you have a person whose symptoms aren't a very good match for celiac, but they're testing for it just in case, and they have positive blood work for something else, a negative might be taken at face value. But for you, I'd say it's inconclusive given that celiac is in your family. Some people have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all for a long period of time, and then Boom! they hit; or else they never have symptoms, but the damage is quietly being done, and then they're at risk for cancer and slow malabsorption malnutrion. I would recommend enterolab testing, because it's the most sensitive test available. I'd say, if those tests are negative, you could feel more secure about the results. All this only goes for the anti-gliadin and anti-tissue transglutaminase tests, though, mind you. Each type of test is unique, and there are plenty for which you can distinguish comfortably between negative and inconclusive. Celiac, however, is a wiley little beast, so it seems.

[wonkabar]

My impression is that the blood test is very specific and not very sensitive at all, meaning there are very few false positives but plenty of false negatives. So for these, negative may be more or less the same thing as inconclusive. Now if you have a person whose symptoms aren't a very good match for celiac, but they're testing for it just in case, and they have positive blood work for something else, a negative might be taken at face value. But for you, I'd say it's inconclusive given that celiac is in your family. Some people have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all for a long period of time, and then Boom! they hit; or else they never have symptoms, but the damage is quietly being done, and then they're at risk for cancer and slow malabsorption malnutrion. I would recommend enterolab testing, because it's the most sensitive test available. I'd say, if those tests are negative, you could feel more secure about the results. All this only goes for the anti-gliadin and anti-tissue transglutaminase tests, though, mind you. Each type of test is unique, and there are plenty for which you can distinguish comfortably between negative and inconclusive. Celiac, however, is a wiley little beast, so it seems.

Thanks for the explanation. I appreciate your reply! I'm not sure if you read more of my post, but these are some things (from a previous post of mine) that seem a bit "off" to me. Had I not tirelessly researched Celiac b/c of Zachary, I wouldn't have even known these "symptoms" could be related in some way.

excerpt from my previous post:

Regarding symptoms...I've learned that there are a bazillion different symptoms related to gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease so it's so difficult to say as I'm not withering away and can function. I had an obscure miscarriage, pre-term labor and premature births with both kids, lots of gas, gi issues a couple times a month after a meal (the "No weight gain on that meal." type of issue ) , numbness/tingling in my hands (specifically right) for no apparent reason, "tiredness" of different degrees and an anxiety disorder. I do feel foggy sometimes, but I associated that to being on Effexor for a year. Sometimes I still get that foggy "Effexor feeling", but I've been off of it for 6 weeks now so who knows what the deal is! I was also symptomatically Dx with an ulcer in my early 20's (I'm 36).....I had lots of gi issues but was going through a really stressful time personally. The numbness, anxiety and foggy feeling have only been present since I've had my kids...they're 3 1/2 and 20 months. I do sometimes get severe pain in my back left side that was Dx as gall stones via an ER visit three years ago.

I just made an appointment for next Thursday with a GI who I KNOW specializes in Celiac. He Dx a family friend with Celiac a few years ago, and she HIGHLY recommends him. Considering Zachary is wildly sensitive to gluten (see my sig) one of us had to pass that along to him, and we'd like to know who. Also, this is a part of our medical history and that of our childrens' and their children. Thank you again for taking the time to give such detailed explanations!