I was diagnosied with PMR 18 months ago. On July 12 I will see my second rheumy. The blood work ordered for the appointment has been completed and when I was in to see my gp today he advised me that my ANA came back positive. My question is could this be caused by PMR?
I don't think so - it is one of the markers that is used in differential diagnosis of various autoimmune disorders but not usually PMR.
"The presence of large amount of autoantibodies or ANAs can indicate an autoimmune disease. ANAs could signal the body to begin attacking itself which can lead to autoimmune diseases, including lupus, scleroderma, Sjögren’s syndrome, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, drug-induced lupus, and autoimmune hepatitis. A positive ANA can also be seen in juvenile arthritis."
However, being "positive" merely means they have found these autoantibodies and it is possible to be "positive" and sitll perfectly healthy. On the other hand, what we call PMR is just the name we give to a cluster of symptoms - often of an underlying autoimmune disorder and the ones listed above can show up with "PMR symptoms".
"a positive ANA reading alone does not indicate an autoimmune disease.
The prevalence of ANAs in healthy individuals is about 3-15 percent. The production of these autoantibodies is strongly age-dependent, and increases to 10-37 percent in healthy persons over the age of 65. Even healthy people with viral infections can have a positive ANA, albeit for a short time.
Some medications can cause a positive ANA. It is important to talk with your doctor all the drugs you are taking—prescription, over-the-counter and street.
Other conditions, such as cancer, can cause a positive ANA.
The positive ANA reading simply tells your doctor to keep looking. In fact, you may have a “false positive” ANA, which means that the evidence is not there to make a diagnosis of lupus or any other autoimmune disease. To make a definite diagnosis, your doctor will need more blood tests along with history of your symptoms and a physical examination."
If you use your search engine to look for one or other of those quotes I've put in there is a very good site from a rheumatology group with an explanation in ordinary English.
But basically - it sounds as if your new rheumy is covering all bases as should be done at the initial diagnosis of PMR. It is a "diagnosis of exclusion" - exclude all the other options and that leaves PMR. He may feel your previous rheumy hadn't done "due diligence".
Thank you so much Eileen. Its so very reassuing to get an answer. There are so many areas that this involves but you have put it all together so its easier to understand. My GP told the positive was not too high but of course they dont give you details. I will wait and see new rheumy. July 12th
Regards Joanne
My pleasure - do tell us how things go. At least the wait for the appointment isn't too long.
Jo I too had a positive ANA score and my doctor believes I have PMR and has put me on Prednisone. Now I read that PMR does not yield a positive ANA test, so I'm wondering what then? Has anyone answered your message on this forum?
Sorry I should have looked under your message for an answer. I believe my question has been answered very well below. Sorry!
Hi Freda Eileen gave a great answer and my ANA is still raised. In the meantime they did more x rays and found moderate osteoarthritis in my feet hands knees hips and i will be going for more xrays on shoulders. My new rheumy advised that I dont have PMR. Very confused as 95% of my pain is symetrical and osteo is a wear and tear disease and comes on slowly. Mine was over a couple of months. She put me on Plaquinil and Tramadol but I dont think we have diagnosis right yet. Some of these things take a very long time to diagnose but keeping track of symtoms and keeping after the dr for a diagnosis is key. In short mine ended up not to be PMR (although felt better on steroids) Good luck to you