Can Anyone Please Help Me Interpret These Celiac Panel Results?

[ConfusedNeuropathic]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to help me interpet my recent celiac panel results. I'd normally wait to talk with my doctor, but Ive been having polyneuropathy and dizziness with some minor GI discomfort for a while now and am eager for any information possible. Any feedback at all would be very much appreciated. Here are the results:

tTG Ab,IgA

MY VALUE: <3

UNITS: U/mL

REFERENCE RANGE:

NEGATIVE: <5

EQUIVOCAL: 5-8

POSITIVE: >8

IgA

MY VALUE: 138

UNITS: mg/dL

REFERENCE RANGE: 81 to 463

Gliadin Ab IgA

MY VALUE: <3

UNITS: U/mL

REFERENCE RANGE:

NEGATIVE: <11

EQUIVOCAL: 11-17

POSITIVE: >17

Am I right that these results strongly suggest I do not have celiac disease?

Thanks A LOT for any assistance, it is highly appreciated!

[ConfusedNeuropathic]

Ok I did a little searching around and now understand that this apparently isn't a full celiac panel since it only tests for IgA antibodies, for which I'm in the lowish range to begin with.

Is there anything at all that can be concluded -- or is at least strongly suggested -- one way or the other based on these results?

Also, is it possible for dermatitis herpetiformis to manifest without a rash?

I'm desparately searching for the cause of polyneuropathy and widespread rashless itching. So many possibilities, both terrible and benign, have been ruled out already and was really hoping I had an answer with celiac sprue / dermatitis herpetiformis, but it seems that I've struck out yet again. Do you all agree?

Thanks for any input at all.

[gfb1]

Ok I did a little searching around and now understand that this apparently isn't a full celiac panel since it only tests for IgA antibodies, for which I'm in the lowish range to begin with.

Is there anything at all that can be concluded -- or is at least strongly suggested -- one way or the other based on these results?

Also, is it possible for dermatitis herpetiformis to manifest without a rash?

I'm desparately searching for the cause of polyneuropathy and widespread rashless itching. So many possibilities, both terrible and benign, have been ruled out already and was really hoping I had an answer with celiac sprue / dermatitis herpetiformis, but it seems that I've struck out yet again. Do you all agree?

Thanks for any input at all.

your tests indicate that you PROBABLY don't have celiac disease. that word 'probably' is the stickler. there are plenty of folks in the forums (and probably one of the big reasons that they are here) that were told they PROBABLY didn't have celiac disease... yet they did.

if you, or your doctor, have reason to believe that you are having reactions of any sort to gluten in your diet; you should be tested for the IgG- EMA/TTG tests. i don't have the links handy ... but, they are poking around the forum... there's a good reference at columbia.u's site and another that i posted elsewhere.

now for my usual digression...

the ranges of values in blood tests are based on a confidence interval. depending on the lab and/or test being conducted, each combination has a precise confidence interval (usually, but not always, 95%), meaning if your test value falls WITHIN that range, there is approx. 95% chance that your value is not significantly different from the average. probably because of how our brains are wired, we all look at a value of serum IgA of 140 and think, its on the low side of the reference range (80-450). statistically, in this example there is no difference among values of 85, 150, 265, or 440 -- with regard to a comparison to the standardized average of the test.

this is part of what makes diagnosis so difficult, and a real art -- not just a science.