Autoimmune and Inflammation Tests
The Tests (17)
ANA Test
A blood screen for antibodies against the cell nucleus, used to look for lupus and related autoimmune diseases; a positive result alone diagnoses nothing.
Read the deep dive →LDH
Lactate dehydrogenase is an enzyme released from damaged cells, a sensitive but nonspecific blood marker used to monitor hemolysis, lymphoma and severe illness.
Read the deep dive →Inflammatory Markers
An overview of blood markers of inflammation, including hs-CRP, ESR, fibrinogen, ferritin, homocysteine and cytokines, and how tracking them over time is used.
Read the deep dive →ANCA Test
Detects antibodies against neutrophil proteins, the key blood test for ANCA-associated vasculitis, a small-vessel inflammation that can damage the kidneys and lungs.
Read the deep dive →Immunoglobulins
Measures the main antibody classes in blood, used to look for immune deficiency when low and for inflammation or blood cancers when high.
Read the deep dive →Complement
C3, C4 and CH50 measure immune-defence proteins in blood, used mainly in lupus, where levels fall and rise with disease activity; samples are fragile.
Read the deep dive →ESR Test
This old, simple blood test times how fast red cells settle in a tube, a nonspecific sign that inflammation is present somewhere.
Read the deep dive →Rheumatoid Factor
Measures an autoantibody that binds other antibodies, used with anti-CCP to support a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, though infections and ageing can also raise it.
Read the deep dive →Tryptase
Measures an enzyme released by mast cells, used to confirm anaphylaxis from a sample drawn within hours and to screen for mast-cell disorders.
Read the deep dive →Celiac Panel
Blood antibodies against tissue transglutaminase and gliadin, used to check for celiac disease; results are only valid while gluten is still being eaten.
Read the deep dive →Creatine Kinase (CK)
Measures a muscle enzyme that leaks into blood when muscle is damaged, used to investigate muscle pain or weakness; hard exercise raises it too.
Read the deep dive →Anti-CCP
Detects antibodies against citrullinated proteins, a highly specific blood marker that points toward rheumatoid arthritis and can appear years before symptoms.
Read the deep dive →ACE Level
Unrelated to blood-pressure drugs, this measures angiotensin-converting enzyme in blood, ordered mainly to help evaluate and follow sarcoidosis, with important caveats in interpretation.
Read the deep dive →Anticardiolipin
Part of the workup for antiphospholipid syndrome after unexplained clots or pregnancy losses, it detects antibodies that must be positive twice, twelve weeks apart.
Read the deep dive →Aldolase
A glycolysis enzyme abundant in muscle and liver, measured in blood as a marker of muscle damage or inflammation, usually alongside creatine kinase.
Read the deep dive →Anti-dsDNA
Often ordered after a positive ANA, it finds antibodies against double-stranded DNA, strongly tied to lupus and used to track kidney involvement.
Read the deep dive →Anti-Smith
Detects an antibody against nuclear proteins that is one of the most specific markers for lupus, though most people with lupus test negative.
Read the deep dive →Autoantibodies that point at a specific disease, and the non-specific inflammatory markers that say only that something is active.