Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)

Antinuclear antibodies are associated with rheumatic diseases including Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE), mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, CREST syndrome, and neurologic SLE.

Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) is an antibody that is found in the blood. Antibodies are proteins that the body makes in order to fight off foreign and harmful materials, such as bacteria and viruses. However, sometimes these antibodies fail to differentiate “self” from “non-self” and these antibodies start breaking down tissue in your body. This is called an auto-antibody. ANA is a type of auto-antibody which attacks the nucleus of cells in the body, causing them to die and resulting in areas on inflammation. These antibodies are usually produced in people who have autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma and polymyositis.

This test is performed in following conditions such as:

• Fatigue
• Muscle pain
• Joint Pain
• Swelling or stiffening of the joints
• Low-grade fever
• Rashes

Also Known As: ANA-Hep2, FANA