Blood Test Results?

[vany4]

Hi. I just got blood test results back, and my Dr. wants me to get an other opinion because he says he can not interpret these results. What do these mean?

AGA - IgA = 3 (negative)

AGA - IgG = 7 (negative)

ERA t-Transglutamine IgA = 3 (negative)

Reticulin IgA Ab - negative (neg: <120)

Reticulin IgG Ab = 1.80 HIGH (neg: <120)

The report says that IGg class retuculin antibodies are not specific for celiac nd occur in 20% of patients with active disease.

Help!

[GEF]

I wish I knew... if it weren't for the Antireticulin (abbrev. ARA), I'd say you were negative. But, more importantly is what type of symptoms are you having and are you currently on a gluten-free diet?

Gretchen

[tarnalberry]

I also only had a positive anti-reticulin score, so my doc suggested sticking with the diet for a while and then trying a gluten challenge, which gave very positive results. It is not very sensitive (lots of people will not test positive to this test even if they are gluten intolerant), but is very specific, in theory.

[vany4]

I have symptoms, mostly bone and joint pain, and have IBS (or so they thought), and bloating, etc. I started a gluten free diet 2 days before the test, and have begun to feel better (it's been over a week now).

I don't understand the difference between sensitive and specific. Does it mean it's specific for celiac, but even people without it test positive?

[vany4]

I have symptoms, mostly bone and joint pain, and have IBS (or so they thought), and bloating, etc. I started a gluten free diet 2 days before the test, and have begun to feel better (it's been over a week now).

I don't understand the difference between sensitive and specific. Does it mean it's specific for celiac, but even people without it test positive?

[tarnalberry]

for lab tests - sensitivity means how often the tests report a postive for someone who really does have the condition. specfic means how many other things a positive test could mean. for instance, a simple iron test is (as I recall) pretty darn sensitive, but not specific for celiac since a lot of things can lead to anemia.