Anti-Myelin Blood Test

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 10:36 am

      I recently started seeing a new dr. to help treat/diagnose me. Along with my many other issues, last night he called to tell me my blood test for anti-myelin antibodies came back abnormal.

      Has anyone else had a blood test for this?

      I had two EMG/NCS and they both came back normal (March 07 & June 07).

      I’m not sure what to make of this or if GBS can be diagnosed in such a way. I’ve heard it’s an indicator for MS.

      (This dr. is actually practices in Naturopathic Environmental Medicine- but use to be a physician! Many foods flare up my condition so we went this route. My original neurologist couldn’t figure me out…and several other neuro’s called this all psychological!)

      Thanks

      Becca

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 1:45 pm

      becca, here is what i found.

      [url]http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=397156[/url]
      The role of anti-peripheral nerve myelin antibody (anti-PNM Ab) in the pathogenesis of acquired demyelination of peripheral nerve is unclear, in part, due to the poor correlation between antibody and disease activity. Previous studies show that only 27-50% of patients with acute demyelinating neuropathy or Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) had serum Abs to peripheral nerve or PNM as demonstrated by consumption of hemolytic activity of serum complement 1 (C1) fixation and transfer assay, quantitative determinations of anti-PNM Ab showed significantly high titers in the serum of patients with GBS, chronic and recurrent polyneuritis, and paraproteinemia associated with peripheral neuropathy. All 11 patients with acute-phase GBS had Ab titers 6-56 times higher than controls. In 6 GBS patients, serial Ab determinations showed that titers were highest on admission, fell rapidly the first week, and became undetectable or barely detectable by the third week. Declining Ab titers coincided with cessation of clinical progression. In 3 GBS patients, depletion of serum IgM lowered anti-PNM Ab titers significantly, whereas IgG depletion failed to produce a similar effect. This study shows that the C1 fixation and transfer assay is a sensitive method to detect anti-PNM Ab in the serum of patients with a variety of demyelinating neuropathies and provides good correlation between Ab level and the clinical course of GBS patients. It may provide important information about the pathogenesis of the demyelinating neuropathies.

      take care. be well.
      gene gbs 8-99
      in numbers there is strength

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 2:49 pm

      Thanks Gene….hmmmmmm..
      So, in simple terms ??? 🙂
      I’m just lost really….we went from all test results coming back normal last spring, to being told this was mental…to now finding some answers.
      I do go back to my dr. in two weeks.

      I had the MAG antibody test. This test was done about a month ago – 7 months after my original symptoms began….yet my condition flares up, worse than it originally did.

      Becca

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 4:04 pm

      I’m curious, did you ever get a true diagnosis? I know you were sick about the same time I was and I remember reading your posts. Gabrielle

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 4:29 pm

      Hey, Gabrielle..

      Nope, I never did get a diagnosis. One dr. suspected GBS ( I did two rounds of IVIG and 2 PE’s with only temporary improvement), but all of the other neuro’s said no, this is psychological. The symptoms weren’t “typical”. I saw a counselor and a psychiatrist who both said, “No, this is not psychological” We took matters into our own hands. One of my good friends got me to do the MS/Swank diet and we saw great improvements!

      It all clicked, on several occasions when I had a sudden flare up & ran to the ER, I had just drank whole milk….we then tried an elimination diet and found that not only dairy, but beef, pork, & eggs also flared up my symptoms (My current dr. tested me and stated I’m also allergic to wheat). There are also some environmental/chemical allergies. I still have to be tested for these. If I get a cold…like I did in early November, that severely debilitates me..yikes – even worse than my first “hit” with my mysterious condition.

      One day my husband mentioned to mea dr. who specializes in allergies…I thought nothing of it, until my physical therapist later that day also mentioned his name. Finally, we found a dr. willing to listen to me & try to figure this all out. He actually was a physician for 18 years until traditional medicine wasn’t working for him 🙂 He found I had hormonal issues, (adrenal & progesterone), toxic amount of tin, digestive issues – candida, deficiencies, the list goes on…we were surprised.

      We were noticing the supplements, especially Vit B12 injections, seem to be doing wonders 🙂

      Anyway, nope…no solid diagnosis….I don’t know that I ever will have one, maybe time will tell….

      Take care

      Becca

    • Anonymous
      November 30, 2007 at 10:18 pm

      Hi Becca, research ms tests and results-you will find this test is done frequently. Its not in your head! Keep trying to get a dx, if not for anyone but yourself. I know exactly what you have gone through and are going through. Have you had a lp done? That would help to rule out MS. Stay Well!:)