my 12 year old son has positive ana

[worriedmom1210]

My 12 yo son had a positive ana and an ana pattern that was homogeneous/speckled and titer that was 1:160. had severe pain in his liver and kidney area for a month has eased up some but still there. Doctors said it wasnt SLE all the other tests came back ok, could it be something serious or should i let it go?

[karajo]

Hi and welcome to MedHelp.

To too have pain in my liver/kidney area.  At first we felt like it was gallbladder.  Then we found hydronephrosis.  If his liver enzymes are not elevated then his liver should be fine.  I'm assuming they have checked his kidney?  

The ANA level of your son is not a significant amount.  And if he had SLE, he would more likely have a facial rash or skin erruptions and joint pain along w/ weakness and muscle pain.  

I have a 13 year old and he gets some very sharp pains in his upper right and left.  They have done an ultrasound of all the organs in those areas and everything is great.  Maybe it's growing pains.  Or has something to do with gas pains.  (Which can be very painful).

Will the ANA become a problem in the future?  Who knows.  If you have a relative that has an autoimmune disorder, then it could be it's in y'alls genitics.  There is a certain percentage of relatives that will have an elevated ANA, but w/o the symptoms that go along with the disease, a dx is not made.  An elevated ANA is only 1 of the 11 criteria needed for a SLE dx. (And 160 is not too terribly elevated)

Dr. Nicholsen will be answering questions, it would be great if you shoot this question to him for his feed back.

[kmil1999]

Hi, and welcome!  I am sorry to hear about your son.  I can't imagine what you are going through.  It is hard to go through the autoimmune thing as adults.  It has to be even more difficult when it's your child.  

For years my ANA has been going up.  When it was first positive (back then 1:40)they said it had to be 1:80 to be significant.  Now mine is the same as your son's (pattern also).  Of course, they say it isn't significant now either.  Other tests for RA, SLE, etc. were all normal.  Finally, in November I was at the rheumatologist and a joint was actually red and swollen at the time.  (guess they have to actually see it with there own eyes before they believe you)  This percipitated her to order a different test called Cyclic Citrullinated Pep IgG.  It was very high and that is how I got the RA diagnosis, even with a negative rheumatoid factor.  

So, even though it may be "normal", don't let it go.  The pain is not normal.  Start to keep a record of all s/sx's. (signs and symptoms)  They will come and go, keeping a log makes it easier to recall and see any pattern.  Also makes sure that you get copies of all bloodwork, office visits, and other tests that he has done.  It is important to have copies to make sure abnormals are reported and it also helps to have so he won't have different doctors order the same test.  According to US News & World report, 7% of abnormal results never get reported.  

Has he been seen by a rheumatologist?  A pediatric one would even be bettter.  There are health pages in the upper right hand corner that may be of help to you.  Autoimmune diseases can be tricky and take a long time to figure out.  Just keep being the good advocate that you have been for your son.  

Hopefully, it is just a fluke that he had some virus that elevated the ANA for some reason and something I said helps.
My best,
Karen
Karen

[worriedmom1210]

thanks so much for yalls input it does help. his liver enzymes were elevated a little and he still has pain now and then to the point where he just goes and sits down.

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

In similar cases chronic infections have been found to cause hepatitis/nephritis, so this should be at least considered.  Other toxins may also be a problem.

If his liver, kidney enzyme levels are higher than expected (even within the high normal range), and correspond to times of symptoms complaints, then I would suggest that you consider testing him at this specific time of maximum symptom severity.