antibody confusion (again) - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

Web Site Search

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

..:: Q & A ::..

THE Q & A

Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

Copying of any posts is prohibited without permissions.

The Q & A with Elaine Moore

Notice: No notices today.

Forum

Discussions

Question and An...

antibody confusion (again)

7/4/2010 10:36 AM

Carol

Joined: 1/28/2009

Posts: 79

antibody confusion (again)

Hello Elaine

Thanks for always being the voice of wisdom amongst the insanity that thyroid disease can sometimes mean :)

I am confused (again) as to what is happening with my thyroid and would appreciate clarification from you.

You may recall that I have been in remission from Graves' since Oct. 09, went hyPO (for me) in March 10,and am now taking 37.5 mcg levothyroxine to maintain my FT4 level in the upper third of the range and my FT3 level at mid-range.

My TSH remains barely detectable.

I just had antibody testing done - TRAb 1.32 (0-1.75) TSI 270

I understand that the blocking antibodies can have a profound effect on thyroid hormone levels and TSH.

How is it that I can have such a high TSI yet my TRAb is apparently in range and I would be hyPO if I wasn't taking levothyroxine?

Thanks, as always, for everything :)

Best regards,

Carol

7/7/2010 12:11 AM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3174

Re: antibody confusion (again)

Hi Carol,

You're right. Those results don't make much sense. With your TSI being elevated, you'd expect to have a lot of blocking TRAb preventing it from causing hyperthyroidism. If that was the case the total TRAb would be high. Since it's not, I suspect that your TSI test isn't accurate. The test is likely measuring a form of TSI that doesn't react with the TSH receptor. It's thought that there are various subtypes of TSI with variations in their potency (for reacting with the TSH receptor).

It would be good if next time, you had your TSI level done by a different laboratory. Best, Elaine

Page 1 of 1

Forum

Discussions

Question and An...

antibody confusion (again)

TO USERS: Q&A posts are visible to all readers. Users can delete their own threads at any time. Users must provide information which is true and correct to the best of their knowledge as well as provide sources or references to any health / medical information if not taken from personal experience. All users including the moderator must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Advertising and self-promotion is not allowed. The moderator or site administrator has the right to ban users with or without warning for not following the basic rules of this site. All posts by default are not to be considered that of medical professionals unless otherwise indicated. As sole moderator, Moore has no conflicts of interest in the sponsorship of this forum.

HOME | ARTICLES | BOOKS | BLOG | Q&A | RESOURCES | ABOUT | CONTACT | SUPPORT

ELAINE-MOORE.COM
Elaine Moore Graves’ Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education
Copyright © 2008-2011 by Elaine Moore. All Rights Reserved.
These pages and their content, including all articles and images are not to be copied, reproduced or printed without written permission. All articles are copyrighted. All images are copyrighted or licensed to use.

SITE LAST UPDATED 23 JAN 2011

ABOUT THIS SITE
This site is self-funded exclusively by Elaine Moore. Moore has no other external sources of funds and receives no monies from government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, Amazon, or other commercial entities to operate this site. There are no conflicts of interest in the operation of this site.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

DISCLAIMER
The information at this site is true and correct to the extent that all information contained herein about the benefits or performance of any diagnostic or treatment are backed up with scientific evidence such as medical journals, reports, articles, and other relevant materials.The educational information provided within is designed to help users better understand the nature of disease and the solutions available. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as or is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Under no circumstances is a particular treatment recommended and in all cases it is recommended that a physician be consulted for any treatments. Reference to any specific commercial or noncommercial products, services, processes, companies or trademarks does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Elaine Moore does not host any form of commercial advertisement, does not sponsor or endorse any products or services that may have been mentioned at the site. This excludes mention of her own copyrighted materials, articles, and books. The opinions, views and recommendations of individual registered members of this website, specifically as it pertains to personal inquiries at the Q&A forum or comments made to blogs, are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Elaine Moore.