Ok. First, I am not a doctor. Second, I am just a mum. Third, I am going to use my blog today to air my thoughts/comments/etc regarding my daughter's recent ANA test.
So, what is an ANA test? It's a blood test. It's used a lot to look/test for rheumatoid arthritis.
So.....my daughter had an ANA test recently. It was done with the better IFT process in the lab and came back as a result of 1:100 and positive for mitoses.
Ok. Now, here's my difficulty. The lab results also said "We recommend to test for dsDNA quantitative." Hmmm...ok. I don't really get that part.
Reading online, a result of 1:160 and up is sometimes considered positive for lots of different things. My daughter's is flagged by the lab as 'high' being at 1:100. What has me worried is the 'positive for mitoses'. From what I can find, the titer number correlates to the level of dilution of the blood. So, antibodies are seen at a low dilution in some one who is at like 1:40. But, if antibodies are seen at a high dilution like 1:160, than the person at 1:160 has more antibodies.
Different folks with different autoimmune diseases (like various rheumatoid) are more likely to have higher levels of autoantibodies. There is much debate out there amongst docs and scientists over the usefulness of these tests.
Ok. What I don't get is the "positive mitoses" bit on the laboratory result sheet. What would have been more helpful was if they described what they saw like, "speckled" or "homogeneous" - at least for my uneducated brain. What I still can't figure out is if the 'mitoses' bit is related to the titer/dilution thing.
So...as an arthritis mum, I want to know if my kid is now ANA+. If so, it makes it more likely she could develope eye problems and could develope polyarticular rheumatoid as opposed to what she has now which is pauci-articular (the less severe form). I'm only finding out about this now because it was my husband who took our daughter in to see the doc that day. Sigh....
So, I'll have to wait to see what the doc says next time.
So, what is an ANA test? It's a blood test. It's used a lot to look/test for rheumatoid arthritis.
So.....my daughter had an ANA test recently. It was done with the better IFT process in the lab and came back as a result of 1:100 and positive for mitoses.
Ok. Now, here's my difficulty. The lab results also said "We recommend to test for dsDNA quantitative." Hmmm...ok. I don't really get that part.
Reading online, a result of 1:160 and up is sometimes considered positive for lots of different things. My daughter's is flagged by the lab as 'high' being at 1:100. What has me worried is the 'positive for mitoses'. From what I can find, the titer number correlates to the level of dilution of the blood. So, antibodies are seen at a low dilution in some one who is at like 1:40. But, if antibodies are seen at a high dilution like 1:160, than the person at 1:160 has more antibodies.
Different folks with different autoimmune diseases (like various rheumatoid) are more likely to have higher levels of autoantibodies. There is much debate out there amongst docs and scientists over the usefulness of these tests.
Ok. What I don't get is the "positive mitoses" bit on the laboratory result sheet. What would have been more helpful was if they described what they saw like, "speckled" or "homogeneous" - at least for my uneducated brain. What I still can't figure out is if the 'mitoses' bit is related to the titer/dilution thing.
So...as an arthritis mum, I want to know if my kid is now ANA+. If so, it makes it more likely she could develope eye problems and could develope polyarticular rheumatoid as opposed to what she has now which is pauci-articular (the less severe form). I'm only finding out about this now because it was my husband who took our daughter in to see the doc that day. Sigh....
So, I'll have to wait to see what the doc says next time.
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