Need A Second Opinion

[Guest Villanfam]

On Sept. 14th I had 2 of my 3 children tested for celiac disease. They have been gluten free since. Here are the results:

My Son 8yrs old 47lbs Symptoms: Autism, ADHD, under weight/height, constipated, bulky stool, irritable, rashy, gassy

Gliadin Antibodies, IgA And IgG

Gliadin IgG = 173.9 H

Reference range 3yrs and older:

25.0 EU or less........negative

25.1 - 29.9 EU.........equivocal

30.0 EU or greater...positive

Gliadin IgA = 37.9 H

Reference range 3ys and older

25.0 EU or less........negative

25.1 - 29.9 EU.........equivocal

30.0 EU or greater...positive

My daughter 2yrs 23lbs Symptoms: Distended abdomin, gassy, constipated, bulky stool, under weight/height, wasted buttocks, rashy, enamel deficiency, irritable

Gliadin IgG = 60.5 H

Reference range 0-2yrs:

20.0 EU or less........negative

20.1 - 24.9 EU.........equivocal

25.0 EU or greater...positive

Gliadin IgA = 27.2 H

Reference range 0-2 yrs:

20.0 EU or less........negative

20.1 - 24.9 EU.........equivocal

25.0 EU or greater...positive

So, I took my other daughter to a pediatric GI today who supposedly specializes in celiac disease. I never had her tested and I wanted all three of them to be seen, but they could only see one at a time. So she was it. The Dr. told me that the test results that I have should be dismissed because it is "the old" test for celiac disease.

Basically, he said that it could mean they have a milk or soy allergy and not necessarily celiac disease, and that I should start feeding them gluten again.

He wants me to let my daughter eat gluten again for 6-8 weeks and then he will give her the "proper" blood tests.

The whole reason I took them in was because they are not improving as well as I would have liked, prob. because my Dad eats gluten and does not think about CC. My Husband is more careful, but makes slip ups every once in awhile. I don

[tarnalberry]

The anti-gliandin tests are still valid tests, though they are only *part* of the full panel. I have no idea why they would be entirely dismissed, and you should ask her what tests she's replacing them with. Those certainly seem like quite positive results to me, and I would make sure that *all* contamination has been eliminated from their diet before saying it's not working.

[happygirl]

Courtney,

I agree with tarnalberry. There are other tests that are now more sensitive, including the tTG test, but, yes, these are still parts of the Celiac panel. To me, this indicates that your children have a problem with gluten!

Good luck,

Laura

[chrissy]

there are other conditions besides celiac that can raise antigliadin levels---i don't know how common they are, but this is probably why your ped gi wants to do more accurate testing.

[Guest Villanfam]

there are other conditions besides celiac that can raise antigliadin levels---i don't know how common they are, but this is probably why your ped gi wants to do more accurate testing.

Do you know what other conditions are associated with antigliadin levels? So I can research them a little. Also, instead of putting them back on gluten can't they just do the same antigliadin test on the two, to see if their levels are now lower going gluten-free. I would think that would make the DX of celiac disease a little more valid. If the high levels of IgG and IgA were because of some other condition (not celiac disease) then they would still be elevated, right?

[chrissy]

crohns disease can raise AGA levels, i think that psoriasis can, too. if you keep your kids gluten free, those AGA IgA levels should drop if they have celiac, but the IgG levels may or may not drop.

[Guest Villanfam]

crohns disease can raise AGA levels, i think that psoriasis can, too. if you keep your kids gluten free, those AGA IgA levels should drop if they have celiac, but the IgG levels may or may not drop.

Okay, so here is what I found out: "Antigliadin IgG has good sensitivity, while antigliadin

IgA has good specificity, and therefore their combined use provided the first

reliable screening test for CELIAC DISEASE. Unfortunately, many normal

individuals without CELIAC DISEASE will have an elevated antigliadin IgG,

causing much confusion among physicians.

If a patient