Hi all,
I’m not looking for an explanation of the *purpose* of ordering an ANA, so much as an explanation of what the results say about the nature of autoimmune disease (my understanding from my rheumatologist is that they don’t actually say that much, but I want to understand the biology):
Why do higher titters not suggest a more active, progressed, or severe disease process?
What is the significance of patterns / why are patterns not more significant?
Why would someone have multiple patterns registered at different titters? If there is only one autoimmune disease detectable through subsequent anti-body tests, could that be explained by polyclonal gammopathy?
Is it possible to be symptomatic with a high positive ANA for years before assays can pick up on specific anti-bodies, and, if so, why?
Which cells in your blood have ANA in their nucleus? All of them? If so, and cells with a damaged nucleus are circulating around your body, why is an ANA-positive organ-specific disease (ex. Hashimoto’s) not considered systemic? Is Anti-TPO an ANA that’s only a problem when your blood circulates by the thyroid where TPO is present?
Thanks in advance!!
In: Biology
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