Toward a better assessment of immune function

[SeymourB]

(photo: Original 1828 National Capitol Columns at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., from my trip to NIH for the History of CLL Study last summer)

The hot topic for most of us is, "Am I protected?" To answer that, we read the tea leaves in the ever growing list of studies coming out, as well as our own medical records.

Some of us have gotten total IgG, IgA, and IgM antibody testing as part of our CLL workup. Some have gotten spike IgG tests before and after COVID vaccines. It's clear that antibody testing alone captures only one aspect of immunity.

Are there any other nerds out there that have had additional immune system testing? Some of the things that I've had are:

* CBC with differential

* Total IgG, IgA, and IgM panel

* Spike IgG after Pfizer and Moderna COVID shots

* CD4, CD8, and NK T-cell counts and ratio from flow cytometry

* Titres done before and after pneumovax23 vaccine that showed I made antibodies to only 3 or 4 of the 23 types of pneumococcal pneumonia.

* I've been researching inherited gene markers (SNPs) and comparing them to COVID GWAS (Genome Wide Association Study) results, but I can't find some of the SNPs mentioned in my 23andMe results.

I would enjoy comparing notes and observations with others, either in posts here, via HealthUnlocked messages, or via email.

=seymour=

[LeoPa]

No Seymour, you are in a nerd class of your own 😃. I mean that as a compliment!

[Smakwater]

No Nerd claims here, however, I monitor CBC counts every 3 mo's mostly watching for cll progression. The differential is just a calculation of the various segregated percentages which one could easily do themselves. I monitor IG's once a year unless I have a reason to do so otherwise just to have some insight about my immune level and inflammation influence.

Looking at the numbers really changes nothing in relation to the ultimate outcome, yet it provides a mental release when the numbers come back either in range or showing a lesser trend.

JM

[SeymourB in reply to Smakwater]

There are certain IgG levels held sacred by researchers and American insurance companies.

One of them is total IgG <400mg/dL in U.S. notation. At that point, we tend to qualify for SCIG or IVIG therapy. But even that is not a hard and fast number.

What I'm hoping is that people in trials get additional testing that may also prove to be relevent to real world disease resistance.

=seymour=

[Smakwater in reply to SeymourB]

I agree with you SeymourB,

There are many advantages to being an informed patient, especially when one is advocating for quality and extended life.