Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.

Arthritis (Expert Forum)

Email this

help me understand

Answered by

Kevin Pho, MD - Internal Medicine

Kevin Pho, MD Boston - MA

This forum is for questions and support regarding arthritis issues such as: Arthritis, Autoimmune Disease, Bursitis, Fibromyalgia, Gout, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Myositis, Neuralgia, Osteoarthritis, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sciatica, Tendinitis, Vasculitis.

Post a Question Back to Forum

MedHelp Member's Question

help me understand

by lusamo, Feb 21, 2006 12:00AM

Tags: autoimmune, Arthritis, antibodies, scleroderma, test, years

I am a 55 year old female, very active. I have had Raynaud's for years and always showed a negative ANA. I had Hashimoto's 20 years ago and thyroid surgery. I only decided to go to a Rheumatogist just to get a good workup about two years ago. All of my blood work has been great until now. I'm in generally good health, but my recent blood work showed a positive ANA and elevated anti-centromere antibodies. My Rheumatologist says that I do not have sclerderma(my fear), but that it appears I'm on the road to Lupus. I have never heard of these tests and am very frightened although my doc was not so. There is a strong history of autoimmune diseases in my family, most have been mild. He did start me on Plaquenil which helped the arthritic pain. He told me that if I didn't "develop" anything in 5 years that he would take me off of it. What do I do now?

Doctor's Answer

by Kevin Pho, MD

, Feb 22, 2006 12:00AM

Anti-centromere antibodies are associated with the limited form of scleroderma (systemic sclerosis). This test is fairly specific (about 95 percent in studies), thus the likelihood that this is a false positive is low (i.e. a 5 percent chance that the test is positive, but you do not have the disease).

To further confirm the diagnosis, you can consider a test for the anti-topoisomerase I (Scl-70) antibody. This is an even more specific test for scleroderma, and should be discussed with your rheumatologist.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.

kevinmd_b

Member Comments (8)

by myproblem, Feb 22, 2006 12:00AM

To: John Bell

I was not aware that advertising was allowed on this forum. If you have advice to give, give it, but don't post a link to sell your product. That is in poor taste.

by lusamo, Feb 23, 2006 12:00AM

SCL-70 was negative. Nothing else was positive. Rheumy looked at me and said "You don't have scleroderma,you just don't". Does the limited kind of scleroderma have the best prognosis>

by myproblem, Feb 23, 2006 12:00AM

Yes, limited Scleroderma has the best prognosis. Plaquenil is a good, long tested drug that slows autoimmune disease progression. It is also known in lupus patients (only) to decrease the risk of blood clots. I take it 2x a day for this reason. It has not done anything for my symptoms, but I am at high risk for clots based on my history, and test results. It improves symptoms in about 50% of patients. If it doesn't improve your symptoms within 3-4 months of taking it faithfully, and you don't have a clotting risk, I would suggest trying something else. Plaquenil is one of the cheapest and safest drugs for us, so if it works, stick with it.

by lusamo, Feb 24, 2006 12:00AM

To: my problem

Thank you very much for your information. I just feel like my Rheumatologist was a bit misleading-- I don't know if anyone has EVER had Centromere antibodies and then didn't develop the diease. That's just one question. What I have learned is that 95% of the people who have these antibodies have sclerderman, not too much left to chance as far as I can tell.

As far as symptoms, the only one I've ever had was Raynauds and some joint pain. Within three weeks of taking the Plaquenil, the joint pain is virtually gone. The Raynauds is manageable, I've never had an ulcer or anything and my fingers are not hard. It's just so puzzling.

by myproblem, Feb 24, 2006 12:00AM

I'm so glad the Plaquenil is working for you. It's so cheap, and low risk, as well as being long tested. You are probably in the early stages of Scleroderma, and possibly will only develop Limited, or CREST. Maybe the rheum. just didn't want to scare you until he was more sure.

by lusamo, Feb 27, 2006 12:00AM

To: my problem

I have an appt. with the Rheum tomorrow and maybe will get a little clarification. I'm probably worrying for little reason. Like you said, maybe this is the very early stages of scl and I won't get a lot worse. My son-in-law, a dr., but not a Rheum says that he has one pt. with scl whose only manifestation was tightened fingers, toes and Raynaud's and she has lived for twenty years like that. A truly wonderful story. That would be an answer to a prayer, wouldn't it? Thank you again for your encouragement and I sincerely hope that you are doing well. You sound as if you have all of this under control and do so well with handling it. Having that peace is a gift. Please stay in touch. I need, right now, to feel as if I "know" one person who understands.

by myproblem, Feb 27, 2006 12:00AM

You can e-mail me ***@****, and we can compare notes. This has been a 15 year hard road to diagnosis for me. You can read more about me in my post in the symptoms forum.

(Liver trouble / Autoimmune disease - myproblem 02/22/2006 )

Back to Forum

Continue discussion

Expert Activity

National Spinal Health Day
Oct 08 by Adam R. Tanase, D.C.

PAD Awareness Month
Oct 05 by Lee Kirksey, MD

When You Need to Know If You're Pre...
Sep 11 by Elaine Brown, MD

Related Expert Forums

Related Communities

Degenerative Diseases

Arthritis

Temporomandibular Joint & Muscle

Information contained within this site is intended solely for general educational purposes and is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific medical condition or question. Always seek the advice of your physician or other health provider for any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. By using this site you agree to the following Terms and Conditions.

MedHelp.org subscribes to the HONCode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation. Verify here

Your Name:
Your Email:
Friend's Email:
Message:

	Enter the code shown:



	Leave a Note Send Message Add as Friend lusamo Member since Feb 2006



	Add as Friend Kevin Pho, MD Male Boston - MA Member since Feb 2003



	Add as Friend Adam R. Tanase, D.C. Male St. Louis - MO Member since May 2008 Mood: AdamTanase happy to answer your questions. Journal Entry: "October 16th is National Spinal Health Da..." [Read]



	Add as Friend Lee Kirksey, MD Male Philadelphia - PA Member since Apr 2008 Mood: LeeKirksey ...optimistic Journal Entry: "I encourage everyone to make sure that yo..." [Read]



	Add as Friend Elaine Brown, MD Female, 47 years Billings - MT Member since Aug 2008 Journal Entry: "Manufacturer's of today's home pregnancy ..." [Read]



	Leave a Note for Just a note Hugs Thinking of you Thank You Welcome Prayer Feel better Congrats! I Can Relate Just a quick note to say hi! Add as friend Post It Never Mind 800 character limit exceeded Just a quick note to say hi! You deserve a big bear hug! You're in my thoughts all the time, but especially today. Thank you for everything! Welcome to our community! You are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope you feel better soon! Congratulations! Time for a celebration... Just wanted to let you know I can relate. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.