High Intrinsic Factor Result?

[NJPoet]

Question: trying to help my sister understand these results. What does a high intrinsic factor Abs result mean?

[fbirder]

It means she almost certainly has Pernicious Anaemia.

[NJPoet in reply to fbirder]

Thank you. That’s what I thought a high result meant. But I didn’t want to speak incorrectly. Thank you for answering my question.

[Margo]

How can you an Intrinsic Factor test please NJPoet ?

[Hidden in reply to Margo]

I had mines done via medichecks private blood tests but you could try asking your gp to test for p.a if you’re worried.best of luck.

[Margo in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Hidden

[wedgewood in reply to Margo]

You can get an Intrinsic Factor Antibody Test to do at home from Medichecks.com. The cost is £100.00 plus £30.00 to have blood sample taken at a clinic ( its not a finger prick test ) or £55.00 to have a nurse come to your home to do it. Free if you know a professional who can do it for you . I was disappointed that Medichecks don’t point out that one can have Pernicious Anaemia, but not have I.F. antibodies show up .

They also offer what they call a “Pernicious Anaemia blood Test “ for £280.00 , plus costs of having blood taken as above . Also not pointing out that the lack of I.F. antibodies does not rule out P.A.

I’ve always thought that there is no conclusive test for P.A. Doctors mostly assume that you haven’t got P.A. if the I.F. antibody test comes up negative .

[Margo in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you so much for your very informative reply wedgewood . Food for thought!

[Blondiejayjay]

Sorry I’m not sure if I’m interpreting the picture correctly but does that result indicate she is in the green zone? Usual with medichecks results they colour the zone you are in so if it was high for instance there would be a red block in that section Kind regards

[wedgewood in reply to Blondiejayjay]

That’s not a Medicheck test result , which are really easy to interpret. NJPoet is in USA .

[Blondiejayjay in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you 🙏

[NJPoet in reply to Blondiejayjay]

No, it’s not in the green zone. The green zone here indicates the normal range, which ends at 1.1. The result is 2.3, which is high.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

Some links that may be of interest...

PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)

Based in Wales, UK. Has some non UK members.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

There is a helpline number that PAS members can ring.

PA tests

Intrinsic Factor Antibody (IFA) test

labtestsonline.org/tests/in...

Parietal Cell Antibody (PCA) test

labtestsonline.org/tests/pa...

PCA is not recommended as a diagnostic test for PA in UK.

It is still possible to have PA with a negative result in IFA or PCA test.

About 50% of people with PA test negative on IFA test.

About 10% of people with PA test negative on PCA test.

Link about "What to do next" if B12 deficiency suspected or newly diagnosed.

Some info may be specific to UK.

b12deficiency.info/what-to-...

B12 Awareness (US website)

b12awareness.org/

US link about PA

rarediseases.org/rare-disea...

Stichting B12 Tekort (Dutch website with English articles)

stichtingb12tekort.nl/weten...

Next link mentions some non UK support organisations

b12deficiency.info/very-use...

B12 books I found useful

"What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and B12 Deficiency" by Martyn Hooper

Martyn Hooper is the chair of PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society).

"Living with Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency" by Martyn Hooper

Has several case studies.

"Could it Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" by Sally Pacholok and JJ. Stuart (US authors)

Very comprehensive with lots of case studies. There is also a paediatric version of this book "Could It Be B12? Paediatric Edition: What Every Parent Needs to Know".

"Vitamin B12 deficiency in Clinical Practice" (subtitle "Doctor, you gave me my life back!" by Dr Joseph Alexander "Chandy" Kayyalackakom and Hugo Minney PhD

Films and videos about B12 deficiency...

PAS conference 2019 videos

pernicious-anaemia-society....

Films about B12 deficiency

b12deficiency.info/films/

B12 article from Mayo Clinic in US.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Table 1 in above article is about frequent misconceptions about B12 deficiency.

Article suggests ....

1) No proof that oral b12 is a good at treating B12 deficiency as B12 injections

2) Many current tests eg serum b12, active B12, MMA, Homocysteine, are not totally effective as diagnostic tests for B12 deficiency.

3) Successful treatment should not be stopped

I am not medically trained.