There are a number of diseases in which the protective system takes the cells of your own body as foreign, after which it begins to erroneously attack them. Most autoimmune pathologies are chronic and pose a serious threat to health. In order to identify these ailments at an early stage of their development, doctors prescribe an ANF analysis. This abbreviation stands for "antinuclear factor." In some conclusions, the study is labeled as ANA. The meaning stands for “antinuclear antibody assay”. ANF is a clinically significant indicator that helps the doctor make the most effective treatment regimen and prevent the development of complications.
The essence of the method
The biological material for the study is blood. When any pathogenic microorganism enters the body, the immune system begins to produce specific antibodies, the task of which is to destroy foreign antigens. The essence of the method lies in the detection and quantification of these substances in liquid connective tissue.
Doctors say that the ANF blood test is a laboratory type of study with a high degree of information. With its help, it is possible to identify any autoimmune pathologies even at an early stage of their development.
Specific antibodies are also often detected in people suffering from severe hepatitis, oncology and some infectious diseases. These substances can be found in healthy people. This situation requires an integrated approach to identify the cause.
ANF analysis sometimes involves evaluating the quantitative content of immunoglobulins. Their presence may indicate the development of collagenoses and diseases of a rheumatic nature.
Indications
It is important to know that the ANF blood test is a study that is prescribed to confirm or exclude the presence of autoimmune pathologies, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.
The doctor may suspect an ailment by the following symptoms:
- Long-term state of fever for no apparent reason.
- Pain in the joints.
- Increased fatigue.
- Pain in the muscles and joints.
- Skin manifestations for no apparent reason.
- Frequent episodes of muscle cramps.
- Elevated body temperature.
- Weight loss.
- Regular episodes of nausea.
- Headache.
- Hearing impairment.
- Diarrhea.
In addition, an ANF analysis is prescribed for suspected rheumatic disease. The study is carried out after obtaining the results of laboratory diagnostics, in which the indicators of ESR, CEC and C-reactive protein are increased.
What shows
An ANF blood test allows you to identify autoimmune pathologies. The study is informative regarding the following diseases:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
- Sjogren’s disease.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis.
- Alopecia areata.
- Addison's Disease.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.
- Antiphospholipid syndrome.
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
- Bullous pemphigoid.
- Autoimmune hepatitis.
- Celiac disease.
- Autoimmune pathologies of the inner ear.
- Chagas disease.
- Cherge-Strauss Syndrome.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Dermatomyositis.
- Crohn's disease.
- Type I diabetes.
- Goodpasture Syndrome.
- Thyroiditis Hashimoto.
- Bazedovo disease.
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
- Kawasaki disease.
- Purulent hydradenitis.
- Primary nephropathy.
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
- Interstitial cystitis.
- Lupus erythematosus.
- Sharpe's syndrome.
- Annular scleroderma.
- Multiple Sclerosis.
- Narcolepsy.
- Neuromyotonia.
- Pemphigus vulgaris.
- Psoriasis
- Raynaud's phenomenon.
- Vasculitis.
- Wegener's granulomatosis.
This is an incomplete list of diseases. It is important that the analysis of ANF shows the development of autoimmune pathologies at an early stage of their course. This allows the doctor to determine the tactics of treatment, and further evaluate its effectiveness.
Preparation
The biomaterial is taken in the morning. It is necessary to donate blood on an empty stomach. The last meal should be completed in at least 4 hours. In this case, drinking water is permissible at any time and in any quantities. The use of alcohol is prohibited.
1 day before the study shows peace. Physical and psycho-emotional stress often lead to a false result. Half an hour before blood donation is prohibited.
It is necessary to inform the doctor about the medications taken during the appointment of an ANF analysis. This is due to the fact that the active components of some drugs provoke the production of antibodies and can also cause lupus erythematosus. False negative results are often the result of taking glucocorticosteroids.
If the patient has been prescribed physiotherapy or instrumental examinations, they must be performed only after blood donation.
Biomaterial fence
It is carried out in the morning. The biological material is venous blood. Its fence is carried out according to the standard algorithm. As a rule, blood is taken from a vein located on the elbow.
After the fluid connective tissue is obtained, serum will be isolated from it. It is she who is needed for the analysis.
Types of studies and their description
Currently, antibodies can be detected in biomaterial in several ways:
- Using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. If specific substances are present in the blood, they will begin to bind to specific nuclear antigens. In laboratories, elements are used that are able to glow in a separate spectrum. Then the biomaterial is carefully examined under a microscope. The disease can be suspected by the type of glow. This method is recognized as the most informative regarding the determination of the value of antinuclear antibodies. One of the varieties of the technique is a study using HEP cells. ANF analysis in this case involves the collection of biomaterial from the larynx. The process is not associated with the occurrence of painful and other uncomfortable sensations. It is important to know that the ANF HEP-2 blood test is currently the most accurate study. Laryngeal epithelial cells are incubated with serum, after which they are also combined with fluorescent substances.
- Using enzyme immunoassay. Its essence lies in the fact that when the interaction of antibodies and antigens occurs, the color of the solution changes. The presence of a particular shade allows us to suspect the presence of a certain pathology.
The decoding of the ANF analysis should be carried out by the attending physician. If there are positive test results, additional tests are prescribed. The final diagnosis is not made on the basis of the conclusion of one analysis.
Normal values
The best result is one in which antinuclear antibodies are absent. However, it is worth remembering that they can be found in completely healthy people. In this case, a repeat study is indicated.
ANF analysis norm - titer no more than 1: 160. Moreover, this indicator is relevant for both adults and children.
When decrypting an ANF blood test, it is important to consider the following information:
- Low titers are not a guarantee that there is no autoimmune pathology. According to statistics, in 5% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, the results of the study are negative.
- If a person has all the symptoms of an autoimmune disease, and the analysis at the same time indicates the opposite, the doctor does not exclude the presence of an ailment. In such situations, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is additionally performed.
ANF analysis performed using HEP-2 cells is considered normal if the titer is not higher than 1: 160. A result of more than 1: 640 indicates an exacerbation of rheumatic pathologies. In the period of remission of the disease, the titer decreases to 1: 320. In this case, only a doctor will be able to identify the fact that such a low indicator speaks of, based on the history and individual characteristics of the patient’s health.
ANF raised
Antinuclear antibodies, binding to antigens, form an immune complex. The latter, in turn, is a trigger factor for the development of the inflammatory process in the walls of blood vessels. As a result, a person has the first alarming symptoms of systemic diseases. Analysis shows high titers.
In this case, the pathology can be identified by determining the type of glow. Interpretation of results:
- Homogeneous. Such a glow may indicate the presence of systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic hepatitis and scleroderma.
- Peripheral. Always talks about the development of systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Granular. Possible diseases: Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, mixed connective tissue pathology.
- The nucleolus. This type of glow is characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus, polymyositis, Sjogren's syndrome and scleroderma.
- Centromeric. Possible pathologies: skin calcification, esophageal dysfunction, Raynaud's syndrome, telangiectasia, sclerodactyly.
- Cytoplasmic. A similar glow indicates autoimmune diseases of the liver or polymyositis.
ANF downgraded
Reducing the level of antinuclear antibodies is clinically important exclusively in predicting and monitoring existing and previously identified systemic diseases.
The ANF indicator directly depends on the intensity of the pathological process. In this regard, its reduction is a favorable sign, indicating that the treatment was successful, and the disease went into remission.
Treatment
Each pathology of an autoimmune nature requires a specific therapeutic approach. The purpose of conducting a blood test for ANF is to identify antibodies in the liquid connective tissue and evaluate the nature of their interaction with specific antigens. Based on the diagnostic results, the doctor can pre-diagnose. To confirm it, additional studies are needed. And only after that the doctor draws up a treatment regimen. The choice of medications directly depends on what pathology is detected in a person.
Cost
ANF can be tested in an independent laboratory, private clinic, or public health facility. It is important to know that not all budget clinics provide such a service. Regarding its availability, it is necessary to specify in the registry.
The study is paid even in public medical institutions. The cost of analysis directly depends on the pricing policy of the clinic, consisting of many factors. The minimum price is 1000 rubles, the maximum does not exceed 1700 rubles. In addition, it is necessary to additionally pay for blood sampling. The cost of this service, as a rule, does not exceed 200 rubles.
Finally
The abbreviation ANF stands for antinuclear factor. Normally, it should not be present in the blood of a healthy person or its concentration should be less than 1: 160. Analysis for ANF is prescribed in order to identify autoimmune pathologies in the patient at an early stage of their development.
The essence of the method: when penetrating into the body of provoking agents by the protective system, antibodies begin to be produced. Their task is to attack antigens and destroy them. To identify this reaction in the patient, venous blood is collected with subsequent separation of the serum. Specific antigens are added to the latter and further reactions are evaluated.