Epstein Barr

[4happygnomes]

Anyone familiar with Epstein Barr test and what results might mean?  I received my results via electronic email yesterday and put a call into my Neuro for his input, but of course, it being a Friday...I didn't get a call back. My lgG results were way out of range...0.0-22.9 is the range and mine is greater than 750!!   And my IgM is below...range is 0.0-43.9 and mine is less than 10.0.  Has anyone else had this tests/similar results?

Thanks!

[4happygnomes]

Thanks, yes...I've had loads of blood work and had the pleasure just this week of being stabbed a couple of times because the nurse was having a hard time getting blood...they are having more of a go at me lately than the infamous MN mosquitos!  ;-)  So far, my Internal Med doctor has only found me to be low in iron and he has been wracking his brain to think of what to test me for next.  I had some numbness in my leg/foot today, which I've experienced before, and that finally went away...but I almost fell flat on my face on the driveway because of my balance issues...unsettling!  What I fear most is that whatever I have is doing some serious neurological damage, and without a diagnosis...I not getting treatment to stop it/help it!  

MN is a great state, heading into one of my favorite seasons before we all hibernate for a couple of months.  Maybe I will incorporate some cross country skiing to get around those months and no one will realize how wonky my walking abilities are!  ;-)

[SarahL2491]

It sometimes takes years and years for a positive dx of MS, I went thru 3-4 neuro's before getting the Dx I don't want but the last one said I probably had it (from looking at my timeline) since 1981; I think longer, now that I look back at things that happened.

There are also many blood tests that should be done to rule out at least 20 other things that mimic MS, which makes it so hard, sometimes to Dx.

MN…..ah…..dad from Hugo, hubby from St. Paul…...

[4happygnomes]

sorry...didn't answer to the LP or Evoked Potentials question...at my last Neuro appt this past week, the doctor said he would think about doing the LP...

[4happygnomes]

Yes on the MRI's T-1, Brain and Spines, all clear...I have an earlier post in July with my history when all my symptoms first started...I have almost all of the clinical symptoms of MS, but the clear MRI's haven't convinced the Neuro's yet that is what I have...frustrating...not that I want that diagnosis...just an answer/explanation for what is going on with me!  

[doublevision1]

Have you had a MRI, LP and/or evoked potentials? The results of these tests are what are needed to come to a definite answer re: MS, in addition to neurological exam and symptoms, once the other mimics are excluded.

[4happygnomes]

Thank you, I also had read that about 90% of adults have antibodies that show that they have a current or past EBV infection....fatigue has always been my major complaint over the years to my GP, they just chalked it up to having low iron and being a Mom to 4 kids...I don't recall ever being tested for Mono, so I may have had it in the past, hard to say?!  But now with all these other MS mimic like symptoms and then the high/low EBV results..seems like another check on the long list of things indicating I do in fact have MS.    Thank you for responding, appreciate it!!

[doublevision1]

"IM [infectious mononucleosis] has an important role in MS susceptibility but future work needs to examine how IM rather than asymptomatic EBV infection appears to be the main association with MS. The role of EBV in MS remains to be elucidated and furthermore, of increasing interest is attempts to understand how MS risk factors interact that lead to the development of MS[2], [8]. For this reason, prospective studies should try to investigate the reasons why some individuals present with IM after infection and why some of these individuals then develop MS."

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012496

[doublevision1]

The vast majority of the population would test positive for EBV. Although some connection has been posited with MS, most will not develop MS. I read some studies that suggested it's not merely the presence of EBV that heightens risk of MS, but a history of infections mononucleosis".

"EPIDEMIOLOGY: EBV infections are quite prevalent, affecting more than 90% of individuals during the first two decades of life worldwide."

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/epstein-barr-eng.php#endnote3

[4happygnomes]

Thank you for your quick response, appreciate it!  I also read a correlation between high IgG and low IgM as indicating a Lyme's infection.  Uff da!  Giving me a headache trying to sort it all out and narrow it all down...want answers to my symptoms quicker than they are coming...hard to be patient. =(

[SarahL2491]

My EB values are way, way high.  Some MS pts have them.  They also indicate mono.  There were several studies done by the government way back years ago about MS its having high EB values but nothing recently.

Don't put too much worry into it.  It won't prove an MS indication because it can indicate other things.