Autoimmune Tests

Autoimmune tests are tests that are used to diagnose autoimmune diseases.  Autoimmune disorders are those disorders that occur when the body's immune system attacks different organs, cells, tissues or the entire body. The immune system does not recognize the cells as one of its own and creates antibodies that attack the cells. Autoimmune testing is necessary to see if the person has organ specific autoimmune disease or generalized autoimmune disease.  Autoimmune disorders fall into two general types: those that damage many organs (systemic autoimmune diseases) and those where only a single organ or tissue is directly damaged by the autoimmune process (localized).

There are 80-100 diseases that occur as a result of autoimmune responses and researchers suspect at least 40 additional diseases have an autoimmune basis. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 23.5 million Americans are affected.

One blood test for autoimmune disease is C-reactive protein (CRP). Another test is ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) - this is done to assess an inflammation that is not from an infection or due to other reasons. One of the most common blood tests for detecting autoimmune disorders is ANA (antinuclear antibodies). This is also known an ANF (anti-nuclear factor).