Quote:
Originally Posted by bacc
My ANA (antinuclear antibody) test came back positive, which means that I may have an autoimmune disease.
|
There are two parts to an ANA test.
The first, usually from an ELISA (an immunoassay), is measuring the level of ANA as a titre; the higher the titre the more ANA are present in your blood.
The second is observing the staining pattern of those ANA in cell nuclei. Terms like "speckled" or "nucleolar" are used to describe this.
Both false-positive and false-negative ANA test results are known. Because of this they are best regarded as confirmatory rather than diagnostic of an autoimmune disease.
The information in this link may help you with this.
RACGP - Antinuclear antibody test