Blood Tests

Status
Not open for further replies.

jrdoran

New member
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
3
Reason
Learn about ALS
Country
US
State
MO
City
Kansas City
If you have ALS will abnormalities show up in your blood. If there are abnormalities in the blood does that point away from ALS?
 
jrdoran ... hi, and welcome to the forum. Hope you will find answers to your questions about ALS.

I've never heard of any blood tests that would detect the presence of ALS.

As to abnormalities that point away from ALS ... that depends on the abnormality. For instance, if someone has Myasthenic Gravis, this would often show up with the proper kind of blood test, and would rule out ALS. However, MG would not show up in a run-of-the-mill blood test. ... it takes very specific kinds of blood work to detect.

Aside from ruling out "mimic diseases," however, there is no reason that one could not have both ALS and another condition that would show up in a standard blood test, such as anemia.
 
I was told that there are some tests that are indicative of ALS. I don't want to list any because I'm not 100% sure which they are and I don't want to put any misinformation out there, but I was told by my doctor who specializes in motor neuron diseases that they look for certain blood tests as part of an ALS diagnosis. Obviously the clinical exams and EMGs are the primary tools of diagnosis, but she told me that my ___ levels were normal, which was a good sign.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top