• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center

Show Search
Hide Search
  • Disease Information
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Gout
    • Osteoporosis
  • Patient Corner
    • Drug Information Sheets
    • Managing Your Arthritis
    • RheumTV – Patient Education Video Library
  • Our Research
    • Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
    • Current Research Studies
    • The Camille Julia Morgan Arthritis Research and Education Fund
  • About Us
    • Appointment Information
    • Contact Us
    • Our Faculty
    • Our Staff
    • Rheumatology Specialty Centers
  • Donate
Home / Ask the Expert / Understanding Antibody Levels

Understanding Antibody Levels

April 26, 2007 By Arthritis Center

Question

I had negative antibody levels except for the ANA (strong positive) on an Elisa screen but did have low levels of ds-dna, sm, ssa and ssb (they are still considered negative) My question is if their presence even at a low level is something to be concerned about? They all increased over 6 months. Will they continue to increase over time? I have read that their presence at anytime is abnormal. I continue to have symptoms of multiple joint pain, swelling, fatigue,etc… although it is finally seeming to improve since starting plaquenil about 4 months ago. I just wonder what this all means for the future. I have been diagnosed with Sjogren’s and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and also have been positive with the Lupus anticoagulant on 3 different occasions.

Answer

From a diagnostic perspective, autoantibodies are more likely diagnostic of disease when they are elevated to higher levels, and more likely to be false positives at lower levels. However, given that you have a high titer ANA, and multiple other autoantibodies are positive together with your symptoms, make it highly likely you have an autoimmune disease in the lupus/sjogren’s family. Higher titers of auto antibodies, particularly anti-double stranded DNA can correlate with more severe disease, although the correlation is not perfect.

Arthritis Center

Founded in 1998, the Arthritis Center at Johns Hopkins is dedicated to providing quality education to patients and healthcare providers alike.

Primary Sidebar

Ask The Expert Topics

  • Alternative Therapies
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Associated With Other Illnesses
  • Bursitis and Tendinitis
  • Corticosteroids
  • Diet and Exercise
  • Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs)
  • Enteropathic Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • General Arthritis
  • Gout, Pseudogout, Other
  • Infectious Arthritis
  • Myositis
  • Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Osteonecrosis
  • Osteoporosis
  • Polymyalgia Rheumatica
  • Psoriatic Arthritis
  • Reactive Arthritis
  • Regional Pain: Back and Neck
  • Rehabilitation
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Surgical Therapy
  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
  • Systemic Sclerosis
  • Vasculitis
RheumTV Logo

Rheum.TV is an informational platform created to educate patients living with a rheumatic disease. With over 100 disease education videos produced by the team at Johns Hopkins Rheumatology.

Visit Rheum.TV

Footer

Johns Hopkins Rheumatology

  • Johns Hopkins Rheumatology
  • Johns Hopkins Lupus Center
  • Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center
  • Johns Hopkins Myositis Center
  • Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center
  • Johns Hopkins Sjögren’s Syndrome Center
  • Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Johns Hopkins Medicine

© 2023 Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center
Patient Privacy