# Help...IGA reading from blood test



## poopster (Oct 21, 2000)

What is an IGA? I had some blood taken last week at JHU to check for a few things. Doc says one of my IGA readings is slightly high. What is an IGA level? I've never heard of it before. I should have had him explain but was on the way out the door at the time. Does anyone know?


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

POOPSTER:Wow. Entire books are written to explain this. So lets be simple (pre-qualifier to all the armchair immunologists who will start to go "Oh MNL thats not exactly correct..." etc. yeah I know).Antibodies are a certain type of Y-shaped molecule that are functional elements of the immune system that help it differentiate different things that get into the body as s afe or not safe, and can control different types of immunologic reactions, some which can produce inflammation some not. There are 5 types (isotypes) and they are called immunoglobulins G,A,M,D, and E. (or IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD, and IgE).Think of IgA as the "protective" antibody. When it "combines" with something in the body it forms a "Safe" form of large complex called an immune complex, which is what Ig[x]'s form when they link up with something, say a special bacteria or other particle. The other ones form immune complexes which can elicit inflammatory responses. IgA is important in the blood as part of the bodies system of differnetiating food from bacteria, (oral tolerance), as one of its major functions.When a food particle eneters the blood stream it binds with IgA, is thus tagged as safe, and a garbage-disposal cell called a macrophage comes along and eats it. If a pathogen enters, depending upon many variables determined by how the immunoglobulin "links" to an antigen, the others form immune complexes which precipitate an attack by the immune system. There is a picture on our website which expalins the consequences of that.Like in allergies, IgE binds with something like a food or pollen particle and precipitates an attack as if this were a bacteria so the immune system responds and the chemicals released can make you sick.There is also another type of protective IgA called "secretory IgA". It helps regulate the permeability of the gut wall to control how permable it is. Something that triggers secretory IgA will cause big complexes to be formed in the gut that casnnot penetrate the gut wall and get into the blood or lymphatics.From the information given nothing can be said other than a very basic idea of what IgA is. A "slightl elevated IgA" in and of itself is not significant of anything. alot of other things have to be taken into account. it could mean nothing or something depending on othe factors that have to be assessed. If that is all he mentioned then he is not too excited about it so you should not either.MNL_____________ www.leapallergy.com


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## poopster (Oct 21, 2000)

Thanks MNL. I am already set up to have an endoscopy with a small bowel biopsy. He says I should still have it to check things out. He was checking for Celiac with the blood tests and said that the one IGA that specifically says you have Celiac came back normal but this one was a little elevated so he thought I should be further checked out. He said it could me a mucuscal (sp) injury to the bowel? Don't really know what that means either but I plan to talk to my regular GI about it when I go for the endoscopy. Thanks for "knowing" so much and being able to explain things to me.


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Hi POOPY:In very simple terms secretory IgA is produced by the bowel's immune system as a protective mechanism...it forms big immune complexes which cannot be absorbed thus limiting what can pass through a damaged or leaky gut wall, be it microbes or food or chemical particles. So something makes the body produce more secretory IgA and the doctor wants to see what that might be in case it is a reversible problem or it is just an artifact.Hey, I don't know beans but I am lucky to be around immunologists that do and their resources...so a little bit rubs off every day.Eat well. Think well. Be Well (really!)MNL________________ www.leapallergy.com


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## poopster (Oct 21, 2000)

Thanks Mike!I had them fax me a copy of the test results this morning. I always like to keep my own file as the doc sometimes can't find results.My IGA was 7 and it says that it should be 4 or under. He wasn't real concerned but said I should have the endoscopy and small bowel biopsy. Thanks for discussing this with me. It's helped me to feel a little better about the situation. All these bowel tests and test results are always scary.


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## Blair (Dec 15, 1998)

Mine was(is) high also, so I had a Liver panel done. That was normal. Doctor said some people in the population just generate higher than normal levels of these protiens. I also recall reading somwhere that IBS sufferers were found to have higher levels of certain Ig's. I think IgA acually but can't remember. I will continue to pursue this, maybe its a clue to some kind of problem in the small intestine?


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## poopster (Oct 21, 2000)

Blair,What is a liver panel?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

liver panel (or any other organ panel) is a series of blood tests that look for abnormal levels of things generally associated with bad, poor, wrong, or non-functioning of the liver (or other organ).K------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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