Test Results

[e&j0304]

Here are some test results of a family member. What do you think?

IgA, quant, Serum 468 reference 70-400

Gliadin IgG 5.7 <=25

Gliadin IgA 66.7 <=25

Tiss. Transglutaminase, IgA 2.5 <7 negative

So the ones in bold were marked as high. I realize that the neg. ttg indicates no celiac. Does the IgA mean anything? I remember hearing that it is not specific to celiac. Why is it part of a celiac panel if it isn't? This person suffers from several things and could likely be gluten intolerant. I believe they might try the diet sometime soon.

Just looking for some insight!

[e&j0304]

Ok, I just found this information on the American Celiac Disease Alliance website (Open Original Shared Link)

The antigliadin antibodies IgG and IgA recognize a small piece of the gluten protein called gliadin. These antibodies became available during the late 1970

[e&j0304]

ANYONE?

[e&j0304]

Ok, this is the last time I will bother all of you with a question. Is there anyone out there who knows if an elevated IgA means anything if the rest of the panel is negative? I am going to ask a ped. GI next week when we go for my son but kind of hoped that of the 58 people who have viewed this thread maybe one could answer.

[jayhawkmom]

Yes, it means that the person is reacting to gluten. But, it doesn't mean that they are reacting because of Celiac Disease. It could be gluten intolerance or other "leaky gut" issues.

IgG is more sensitive, but less specific.

IgA is less sensitive, but more specific.

The total syrum IgA is elevated, and I have absolutely NO idea what that means at all. But, the IgA antigliadin could be elevated due to the elevation of the total syrum IgA.

[Jestgar]

kind of hoped that of the 58 people who have viewed this thread maybe one could answer.

It's all just a plot. We only view- not answer..

Seriously, though-

Do you mean the total IgA?

I don't have an answer, but someone who does might need the clarification.

[chrissy]

i don't think that the raised total IgA serum is particularly significant and the antigliadin IgA could be raised by things other than celiac. it would probably be a good idea to do further investigating.

[happygirl]

generally, the total IgA number is important if it is low, which means that you can have trouble scoring positive on other tests, even if you actually are positive.

the absence of tTG doesn't mean 100% that you don't have Celiac. Higher levels of intestinal damage are correlated with tTG, so you could be mildly damaged, and not scoring positive (yet).

The doctor did not run another important test, which is the EMA IgA (see full panel: Open Original Shared Link

Further----taken from the above mentioned website:

"Seronegative celiac disease

Both the anti-tTG and the EMA titers correlate with the severity of villous atrophy [26-29]. As a result in the presence of partial villous atrophy either antibody may be negative. In addition the mode of presentation of the celiac disease, i.e. presence of silent or subclinical celiac disease may be associated with a negative EMA [30]. Clinically seronegative celiac disease is similar to sero-positive celiac disease [23, 28] In view of the possibility of the presence of celiac disease in the absence of a positive anti-tTG or endomysial antibody the presence of a positive IgA AGA should prompt a biopsy [13]. Several studies have demonstrated that reliance on either anti-tTG or endomysial antibody as a single test will underestimate the prevalence of celiac disease [23, 25, 31, 32]. "

The fact that this person is having symptoms, and shows some sort of reaction (whether its Celiac/nonCeliac is up in the air), indicates that trying the gluten-free diet would certainly be an important option, esp if other tests are not shedding any light. (My doctor only ran the IgG and IgA, didn't run the others---I knew nothing about Celiac----it was positive, and going gluten free changed my life).

Hope this helps.

[e&j0304]

Thank you all so much for responding and for your advice/knowledge about this. His Total IgA was high, but I was actually wondering about his anti-gliadin IgA which was also quite elevated.

Chrissy, do you know off had which other conditions could cause an elevated IgA? I have been looking all day and can only find things that cause an elevated IgG (crohn's etc). I really didn't find much about the IgA other than that it was specific for celiac. Nothing I read touched on if it means anything when paired with other tests that are normal.

Thanks again. We are going to see a pediatric GI next week for my son who suffers from reflux so we'll ask him them.

PS Jestgar: I KNEW it was a all just a plot against me...

[Jaynee]

I am not sure I get this . I had the Ttg test and the result came back negative at 7.1. It said anything less than 20 was negative. But I have read on here that some people say anything less than 7 is negative. I am confused.

Example someone said this,

Tiss. Transglutaminase, IgA 2.5 <7 negative

My lab results say <20 is negative.

Help.

Thanks.

[happygirl]

Jaynee:

Lab results vary per lab. That is why they list the reference ranges, because what is positive on one, is not on another. So, it depends on which lab was used and their methods (this applies to many other tests, not just Celiac).

Hope that clears up the confusion!

Laura

[Judee]

What ever came of your child's high Gliadin IgA test , high total IgA serum, with negative IgG and negative TtG.

My son has similar blood work (high Gliadin IgA, but no idea on the total IgA serum number, negative on the other tests) and I can not make sense of it.

Judee