You should have both tTG-IgA and total serum IgA tests to screen for celiac disease. As long as you produce IgA (total serum IgA confirms you do), tTG-IgA is 98% accurate in measuring elevated antibodies. If you are IgA deficient, or if there is some other equivocating factor to potentially compromise the blood test, then… Read more »
(Updated .)Keyword: blood test
I had the Antibody Array 3 Wheat/Gluten Proteome Sensitivity & Autoimmunity blood test. Is this the right test to diagnose celiac disease?
No, you should have both the tTG-IgA and total serum IgA tests to screen for celiac disease. As long as you produce IgA (total serum IgA confirms you do), tTG-IgA is 98% accurate in measuring elevated antibodies. If you’re IgA deficient, or if there is some other equivocating factor to potentially compromise the blood test,… Read more »
(Updated .)Is an IgA result of 39, where normal is 81-463, considered deficient and could it invalidate anti-IgA tests?
Any level of IgA above 20 mg/dl should make the tTG-IgA test valid, regardless of age.
(Updated .)Can you confirm celiac disease from only a blood test?
Never, in fact. Other variables must be part of a diagnosis. New guidelines in 2011 allow for diagnosis without a biopsy, but only in very rare cases. In these rare cases at least one of the genes must be present, both tTG and EMA blood tests must be more than 10x normal, and there must… Read more »
(Updated .)How much gluten should be consumed prior to being screened for celiac disease?
It’s best to continue a normal, gluten-containing diet before being screened and diagnosed. If a gluten-free diet has been followed for more than a few weeks, then we recommend eating at least 1 serving of gluten (1/2 slice of bread or a cracker, for example) every day for 12 weeks prior to a blood test… Read more »
(Updated .)Are blood tests reliable for infants?
Blood tests aren’t always accurate in children with symptoms younger than three years of age. Children often must have been eating wheat- or barley-based cereals for some time, up to one year, before they generate an autoimmune response to gluten that shows up in testing. A pediatric gastroenterologist should evaluate young children who are experiencing… Read more »
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