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I got tested for celiac, among other tests, and though the IgA to gliadin came back as normal, my total serum quantitative Immunoglobulin A came back sky high at 429 with a reference level of 70-400. Anyone have any idea what this means?

ikulo wrote:I got tested for celiac, among other tests, and though the IgA to gliadin came back as normal, my total serum quantitative Immunoglobulin A came back sky high at 429 with a reference level of 70-400. Anyone have any idea what this means?

Interesting, I just had blood work come back with a high quant. Iga also at 421. My hematologist said it's due to an antibody in the blood possibly from a virus...maybe there's another reason for the elevation???

Scat - is your doctor ordering any other tests to narrow down the cause? I read that IgA is responsible for the mucus membranes, so everything from saliva, tears, to the digestive tract. At the time I was feeling pretty good -- even my MS symptoms were good, so that's what I'm a little curious.

I'm not really sure what kind of doctor to even follow up with... I don't think a neuro is qualified.

there is salivary/secretory igA and serum igA. it's essentially inflammatory response right, so yes possibly infection. more info:

"Increased serum immunoglobulin concentrations occur due to polyclonal or oligoclonal immunoglobulin proliferation in hepatic disease (hepatitis, liver cirrhosis), connective tissue diseases, acute and chronic infections, as well as in the cord blood of neonates with intrauterine and perinatal infections.
Elevation of immunoglobulin A may occur in monoclonal gammopathies such as multiple myeloma, primary systemic amyloidosis, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, and related disorders.
Decreased levels are found in patients with primary or secondary immune deficiencies."

we already discussed a future zinc test for you elsewhere but this IgA issue ties it back in. a little science...

IgA and inflammation:

Association of inflammation with raised serum IgA in ankylosing spondylitis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 1-0019.pdf

"The mean serum IgA was 38% higher in patients (306.9 mg/dl) than in controls (222 7 mg/dl) (P<0 .005), but there was no significant difference in IgG and IgM levels. Increased IgA was associated with laboratory parameters of active inflammatory disease. The mean IgA in patients having an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) equal to or greater than 15 mm/h was 369 mg/dl, 65% higher than in controls (P<0 .001), whereas there was no significant difference between controls and patients with an ESR of less than 15 mm/h. The mean IgA in patients having a C-reactive protein (CRP) level equal to or greater than 15 ,ug/ml (15 mg/1) was 387*8 mg/dl, 74% higher than in controls (P<0 .001), and again there was no significant difference between controls and patients with CRP levels less than 15 pg/ml. (SI conversion: g/l=mg/dl x 0.01)."

and another interesting tidbit... zinc and IgA

[Plasma zinc levels in elderly hospitalized subjects. Correlation with other nutritional and immunological markers and survival].
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6320399
"Plasma zinc concentrations were significantly lower in the elderly patients, as compared to the younger subjects (p 0.001) ... Immunological tests in the elderly show moderate lymphopenia, high serum IgA and frequent depression of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to DNCB and PHA."
the correlation btw low zinc and high IgA did not apparently attain the significance grail, at least not using their study design, which i can't evaluate not having access to full text/raw data.

aside: not to mention zinc and ESR, interesting...:

Plasma zinc and its relationship to clinical symptoms and drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1000551/
"Zinc levels correlated positively with serum albumin, and there was an inverse correlation between zinc levels and both ESR and globulin concentration in all rheumatoid patients. However, the correlation coefficient varied in the different treatment groups. The results of this study support the hypothesis that low plasma zinc level in rheumatoid arthritis is one of the nonspecific features of inflammation."

Check out a hematologist, they might be able to give some answers. At this time he's not ordering anymore tests and didn't really give me any answers except for it could be a virus. I'm suppose to go back in April for a follow up. My platelets have also been low (139 on my last test). What did your doc say about it? Are your platelets in normal range?

Here's some info I got just from online research about increased IgA's:

Increased levels of IgA may indicate the following:

Chronic infections, especially involving the gastrointestinal tract
Inflammatory bowel disease
Myeloma
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003545.htm

IgA antibodies are found in areas of the body such the nose, breathing passages, digestive tract, ears, eyes, and vagina. IgA antibodies protect body surfaces that are exposed to outside foreign substances. This type of antibody is also found in saliva, tears, and blood. About 10% to 15% of the antibodies present in the body are IgA antibodies. A small number of people do not make IgA antibodies. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/immunoglobulins

An IgA test can help doctors diagnose problems with the immune system, intestines, and kidneys. It's also used to evaluate autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and celiac disease. Kids born with low levels of IgA — or none at all — are at increased risk of developing an autoimmune condition. http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/med ... t_iga.html