Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Blood Test For Fibromyalgia


miche

Recommended Posts

miche Rookie

NEW ANTIBODY DISCOVERED IN THE BLOOD OF

MANY FIBROMYALGIA PATIENTS

Reactivity on the APA Assay Correlates with Fibromyalgia Severity in Many Patients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW ORLEANS, February 10, 1999 - Autoimmune Technologies, LLC, a New Orleans

biotechnology company, today announced that scientists have discovered a new antibody in the blood

of many fibromyalgia patients. This research is described in an article entitled "Anti-Polymer

Antibody Reactivity in a Subset of Patients with Fibromyalgia Correlates with Severity," which

appears in the February 1999 issue of The Journal of Rheumatology, a prominent scientific journal.

Using a patented blood test called the Anti-Polymer Antibody Assay, or APA Assay, researchers

found anti-polymer antibodies in approximately one-half of all patients who were diagnosed with

fibromyalgia and in more than 60% of the fibromyalgia patients with severe fibromyalgia symptoms.

Patients with diseases frequently confused with fibromyalgia, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic

lupus erythematosus, and systemic sclerosis/scleroderma, had a much lower incidence of these

antibodies than did the fibromyalgia patients.

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic pain disorder that affects millions of individuals, primarily

women, in many countries throughout the world. The cause or causes of fibromyalgia are currently

unknown, but researchers have suggested that trauma, infection, and exposure to environmental

factors may all participate in the development of this debilitating illness. Together with widespread

pain and tender points in various areas of the body, signs and symptoms include fatigue, sleep

disorder, morning stiffness, headache, cognitive problems, and other symptoms. In the United States,

some 3% to 5% of adult women meet the strict diagnostic criteria of the American College of

Rheumatology for fibromyalgia, but as many as 15% to 20% of adult women may have fibromyalgia-

like symptoms.

Fibromyalgia syndrome is often difficult to diagnose, and typically a diagnosis is reached through the

time-consuming and expensive process of ruling out other illnesses that have similar symptoms. In

addition, many physicians consider fibromyalgia to be the result of aging and other normal body

processes and do not regard it as a distinct clinical disorder. The resulting reluctance on the part of

some physicians to attribute their patients' symptoms to a specific illness has added considerably to the

distress of many fibromyalgia patients. Until now, there has been no laboratory test to help identify

fibromyalgia.

"Our results show that there is a unique immunological response in many fibromyalgia patients," said

Russell B. Wilson, Ph.D., president of Autoimmune Technologies and lead investigator of the

published study. "We hope that these findings will lead to a better understanding of the illness and to

the development of treatments for these patients."

It is possible, Dr. Wilson pointed out, that anti-polymer antibodies are associated with one of the

several different causes of fibromyalgia, perhaps the cause that tends to produce the most severe


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,864
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    RobiBob
    Newest Member
    RobiBob
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      Try a multivitamin maybe it will cover what you are deficient in.
    • cristiana
      Agreed, and I can't remember exactly and haven't got time to check, but I think my blood didn't normalise for eight years! For years I read this forum thinking why can't I get my numbers down - everyone else manages to.   But my gastroenterologist didn't seem to worry about it, which makes me think he either thought I wasn't complying to the diet, or he'd seen similar cases.
    • trents
      Yes, being off gluten for 3 months would likely yield negative results. To get accurate testing redone you would need to restart gluten consumption for several weeks (the "gluten challenge") to the tune of at least 10g of gluten daily (about the amount found in 4-6 slices of wheat bread).
    • trents
      That is one of the tests covered in the article I linked you above.
    • RMJ
      Antibodies to Deamidated gliadin peptides.  It is another celiac antibody test. The main test is the one you had, TTG,  But a full panel will also include DGP IgA and IgG.  I was positive on all of them!
×
×
  • Create New...