The antinuclear antibody test (ANA) is one of the first tests that physicians use when they suspect a patient may be showing symptoms of an autoimmune disorder. True to its name, this test screens for antinuclear antibodies, which are a category of antibodies that attack the healthy proteins within the cell nucleus.
Antinuclear antibodies are markers for a number of autoimmune diseases, the most notable of which is systemic lupus erythematosus (Ferrell and Tan, 1985). Antibodies to specific nuclear constituents are high specific for certain collagen vascular diseases.
Your healthcare provider may order an ANA test if you have signs of an autoimmune disease such as fever, fatigue, a butterfly rash, muscle pain, and joint pain.
Those are clear cut and well-described diseases, but there are so many people who have autoimmune conditions without a label.
“There's usually no single test to diagnose autoimmune disease. You have to have certain symptoms combined with specific blood markers and in some cases, even a tissue biopsy. It's not just one factor.” Diagnosis can also be difficult because these symptoms can come from other common conditions.
Autoimmune disease occurs most often in young women. Incidences of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis peak at approxi- mately age 20, with a 3:1 (female-to-male) preference [1,2]. Incidences of type 1 autoimmune diabetes [3] and autoimmune skin diseases, such as vitiligo, peak at young age [4].
Blood tests.
Blood tests can determine if you have typical levels of infection-fighting proteins (immunoglobulins) in your blood and measure the levels of blood cells and immune system cells. Having numbers of certain cells in your blood that are outside of the standard range can indicate an immune system defect.
In fact, if an autoimmune disorder is left untreated, it can lead to more serious complications and even death. The person will also run a higher risk of infections.
Doctors often have a hard time diagnosing autoimmune diseases. There's usually not a specific test to show whether you have a certain autoimmune disease. And the symptoms can be confusing. That's because many autoimmune diseases have similar symptoms.
These include the complete blood count (CBC), urine analysis (UA), sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), and muscle enzymes. In the CBC, we are looking for an anemia of inflammatory disease which can develop.
When the body senses danger from a virus or infection, the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it. This is called an immune response. Sometimes, healthy cells and tissues are caught up in this response, resulting in autoimmune disease.
In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells.
Autoimmune disorders in general cannot be cured, but the condition can be controlled in many cases. Historically, treatments include: anti-inflammatory drugs – to reduce inflammation and pain. corticosteroids – to reduce inflammation.
The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology reports that signs of a possible immune deficiency in adults include: Having more than four ear infections in one year. Developing pneumonia twice during a one-year period. Suffering from chronic sinusitis or more than three episodes of bacterial sinusitis in a year.
You may be considered immunocompromised if you:
A bone marrow transplant, also called a stem cell or Hematopoietic cell transplant, within the last 2 years, or longer than 2 years if you are taking medicines to suppress the immune system.
For many autoimmune diseases, symptoms come and go, or can be mild sometimes and severe at others. When symptoms go away for a while, it's called remission. Flares are the sudden and severe onset of symptoms.
The hallmark of autoimmune diseases generally involves the presence of self-reactive T cells, autoantibodies and inflammation.
Autoimmune diseases are fairly common, affecting more than 23.5 million people in the United States, which is about 1 in 13 people! You may have heard of some of them, such as diabetes (type 1), rheumatoid arthritis, and celiac disease.
Nearly 4% of the world's population is affected by one of more than 80 different autoimmune diseases, the most common of which include type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn's disease, psoriasis and scleroderma.
Autoimmune diseases can affect many types of tissues and nearly any organ in your body. They may cause a variety of symptoms including pain, tiredness (fatigue), rashes, nausea, headaches, dizziness and more. Specific symptoms depend on the exact disease.
Physical and psychological stress has been implicated in the development of autoimmune disease, since numerous animal and human studies demonstrated the effect of sundry stressors on immune function.
Most scientists believe environmental factors play a key role in this rise. “Human genetics hasn't altered over the past few decades,” said Lee, who was previously based at Cambridge University. “So something must be changing in the outside world in a way that is increasing our predisposition to autoimmune disease.”
An overactive immune system
If you are born with certain genes, your immune system may react to substances in the environment that are normally harmless. These substances are called allergens. Having an allergic reaction is the most common example of an overactive immune system.