What Do These Numbers Mean?

[kprince]

I just got my test result numbers faxed to me. I know that I have celiacs, but do these numbers tell you anything else. Does it show the degree of damage. Any info would be fantastic.

Anti-Gliadin IgG ELISA (AGA IgG) 52.7 U/ml reference range <10.0U/ml

Anti-Gliadin IgG ELISA (AGA IgA) 13.5 U/ml reference range <5.0U/ml

Anti-Human Tissue Transglutaminase IgA ELISA (TTG IgA) >100.0 U/ml reference range <4.0 U/ml

Anti-Endomysial IgA (EMA IgA) positive reference range negative

Total Serum IgA by Nephelometry (TOTAL IgA) 200 mg/dl Reference range > 13 years to adult 44-441 mg/dl

Thanks my fellow experts on your unbelievable knowledge!

[ericjourney]

kprince--

It appears that your AGA IgG, AGA IgA, and TTG IgA numbers are all very high, indicating that you are having a strong immune response to gluten. There are some celiacs who talk of having minimal or unnoticeable reactions to eating gluten; I suspect you are not one of them.

There is a diagnostic test, a D-Xylose Absorption Rate test, that can assess the capacity of your intestine to absorb a specific type of sugar. My understanding is that you fast, go to the lab, drink a sugar-water solution, and then have your blood drawn at intervals over several hours. This test should be able to show that your intestine isn't functioning fully, and give you a specific measure of how it compares to a healthy intestine.

I haven't had a D-Xylose Absorption test myself; I'm no expert here. Does anybody else have experience using Xylose to measure intestinal damage? I guess the theory would be to repeat the test after 6 months of gluten-free to see if there is improvement.

[Ursa Major]

Strangely, some people with lower numbers have more damage than ones with extremely high numbers. I am not sure it really matters. Obviously you have celiac disease, start the gluten-free diet and get well!

With those numbers you may want to check every six months to see if they are going down, though.