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ANA (Antinuclear Antibody):

•Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are a group of autoantibodies produced by a person's immune system when it fails to adequately distinguish between "self" and "nonself." The ANA test detects these autoantibodies in the blood.

•ANA react with components of the body's own healthy cells and cause signs and symptoms such as tissue and organ inflammation, joint and muscle pain, and fatigue. ANA specifically target substances found in the nucleus of a cell, hence the name "antinuclear." They probably do not damage living cells because they cannot access their nuclei. However, ANA can cause damage to tissue by reacting with nuclear substances when they are released from injured or dying cells.

•The ANA test is one of the primary tests for helping to diagnose a suspected autoimmune disorder or rule out other conditions with similar signs and symptoms. The ANA test may be positive with several autoimmune disorders. Patients with the autoimmune disorder systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are almost always positive for ANA, but the percentage of patients with other autoimmune disorders who have positive ANA results varies. Also, a significant number of patients with a variety of other types of disorders (and even some heathy people) may be positive for ANA, especially at low levels.

•About 3-5% of healthy individuals may be positive for ANA, and it may reach as high as 10-37% in healthy individuals over the age of 65 because ANA frequency increases with age. These would be considered false-positive results because they are not associated with an autoimmune disease. Such instances are more common in women than men.

There are over 100 autoimmune diseases and although it is not possible to test for all of them with a single blood test, several can be tested based upon specific symptoms and clinical features. 

Below is a list of several autoimmune disorders and their associated antibodies. Some autoimmune disorders are not represented by any type of antibodies and in such situations, diagnosis is made based upon alternate tests or tissue specific biopsy. 

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•Addison disease

Adrenal antibodies (21 hydroxylase)

•Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) 

•Autoimmune Hepatitis

Anti mitochondrial antibody  (AMA)

•Celiac disease - 

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (anti-tTG) and Anti-Gliadin antibodies (AGA)

•Clotting disorders

Protein C, Protein S and antithrombin 3 levels

•Diabetes Type 1

Glutamic acid decardoxylase (GAD) and Islet cell antibodies 

•Granulomatous Polyangitis

Anti neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) 

•Graves disease

Thyrotropin receptor antibodies and thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins 

•Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Ganglioside antibodies 

•Hashimoto Thyroiditis

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO)

•Mixed Connective Tissue Disease

RNP antibodies 

•Multiple Sclerosis

Myelin basic protein 

•Myasthenia Gravis

AcHR and MuSK antibodies

•Pernicious Anemia

Parietal cell antibodies

•Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Anti mitochondrial antibodies

•Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Multiple antibodies (mixed picture)

•Polymyositis

Multiple 

•Psoriasis

Multiple

•Sclerosing Cholangitis

•Reactive Arthritis

•Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid factor, CCP

•Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid factor, CCP

•Scleroderma

Anti Scl-70

•Sjögren Syndrome

Anti Ro(SS-A), Anti La(SS-B) 

•Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE)

Anti dsDNA, Anti Smith

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