This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello everyone. I was just wondering if its normal in MS to have elevated levels of absolute monocytes? Had my cbc done and mono came back at 1.0

Hi,
If they're elevated and the pathology report notes it then look for infections first.

EBV, mycoplasmas, chlamydia are a good place to start.

Regards

Hi Scott,

Negative for chlamydia. Since i can't get a straight answer from my GP, how does one go about getting testes for EBV, or more specifically, what test(s) would I ask for?

On another note, I had my blood serum sent to Igenex not to long ago to see if it would turn up any thing. Certain strains came back positive or IND

IGM
18KDA ++
34KDA IND
41KDA +

IGG 39KDA IND
41KDA ++
58KDA +

I wonder if this would have anything to do with the elevated Monocytes? BTW, I have been diagnosed with MS.

Hi,

Very simply, IGG readings reflect antibodies indicating a past infection and IGM readings indicate an acute or recent infection. Nearly everyone will show antibodies to an old EBV infection so the doctor will say you had it but if the IGM is negative he'll say there's nothing to worry about. For many people that's true. However, EBV is a herpes family virus so it persists in the B cell. There is plenty of research to highlight that EBV infected B cells produce excess superoxide. They will replicate along with your own cells as they hijack the hosts machinery so the viral load will increase. An EBV infection is lifelong.
There is very good work associating EBV as a causative agent for MS.
Get the test done just to be evidence based (a blood test). I would also check your uric acid level. Rather than get hooked up on a number see what it is against the normal range for that lab. If it is low it is indicative of a loss of purines over time which indicates that the normal processes to recycle ADP to ATP are impaired.
See if you can get tested for mycoplasma infection. They can be a real problem.(blood test again)
If your doctor doesn't give you direct answers to your questions about test results then he is not your friend. Nearly everyone who asks for help on these pages suffers from information deficits. The people who get straight answers generally provide the useful answers. There's a lot of medical providers who are inarticulate so you may have to push for facts. Only facts matter. Opinions aren't worth much.
Regards