Hello,
My daughter has symptoms that could possibly be due to past mold/toxin exposure, so naturally I started reading about potential diagnostic tests in this area. However, I'd like to ask a scientifically critical question about some of these tests. Specifically, I'm referring to some of the basic blood tests that Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker talks about in his book, "Mold Warriors", and on his website www.survivingmold.com.
As one example, he mentions that if you don't have the particular, HLA DR genetic make-up for your body to recognize that you've been exposed to toxins, your body won't make antibodies to the toxins and the liver won't excrete them. Then, they can remain in your body. If that is the case, then a "backup" detoxifying pathway gets activated, as measured by a compound called C3a. Also, there can be a whole cascade of effects, which he explains in his book, that result in certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF and IL-1B, among many others being made. It is my understanding that Dr. Shoemaker then concludes that if you have the altered HLA DR genetics, high C3a and other abnormal values (e.g. MMP-9, MSH, VEGF, VIP), then you must have been exposed to mold toxins and still have them in your body.
So, here is the critical question. Is it possible that you could test for C3a, TNF and IL-1B and these would be abnormal (high) due to some other toxic load on the body, such as toxins from a leaky gut or SIBO or even allergies? It is known that leaky gut can allow poorly undigested food particles into the body which the body may take for invaders and then mount an immune response. Also, allergens, whether environmental or those passing through the intestinal wall due to leaky gut, may also result in an inflammatory response. My point is that I wouldn't want to be pursuing a mold treatment for my daughter if in fact the same pro-inflammatory cytokines can be high due to leaky gut or SIBO, both of which my daughter has, or even allergens of some sort.
I suppose one could be more definitive in a diagnosis if one were to also test for HLA DR genes. However, this is a relatively expensive test and LabCorp is not included in our insurance coverage, whereas the other basic blood tests (e.g. C3a) would be in our plan and therefore covered. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the extra short term cost would be worth it if the HLA DR test results confirmed whether mold/toxins "were the thing". In my mind, I would give more weight to testing for things like C3a if it specifically confirmed if a backup detoxifying pathways is still activated due to mold/toxins. But, if high C3a could also be due to SIBO, leaky gut, allergens or even a general inflammatory response, then it wouldn't be as diagnostic as he infers.
Does anyone with a background in immunology have a good answer to know if diagnostic tests such as C3a are being oversold as a marker for mold exposure?
Regards,
Scotty81
My daughter has symptoms that could possibly be due to past mold/toxin exposure, so naturally I started reading about potential diagnostic tests in this area. However, I'd like to ask a scientifically critical question about some of these tests. Specifically, I'm referring to some of the basic blood tests that Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker talks about in his book, "Mold Warriors", and on his website www.survivingmold.com.
As one example, he mentions that if you don't have the particular, HLA DR genetic make-up for your body to recognize that you've been exposed to toxins, your body won't make antibodies to the toxins and the liver won't excrete them. Then, they can remain in your body. If that is the case, then a "backup" detoxifying pathway gets activated, as measured by a compound called C3a. Also, there can be a whole cascade of effects, which he explains in his book, that result in certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF and IL-1B, among many others being made. It is my understanding that Dr. Shoemaker then concludes that if you have the altered HLA DR genetics, high C3a and other abnormal values (e.g. MMP-9, MSH, VEGF, VIP), then you must have been exposed to mold toxins and still have them in your body.
So, here is the critical question. Is it possible that you could test for C3a, TNF and IL-1B and these would be abnormal (high) due to some other toxic load on the body, such as toxins from a leaky gut or SIBO or even allergies? It is known that leaky gut can allow poorly undigested food particles into the body which the body may take for invaders and then mount an immune response. Also, allergens, whether environmental or those passing through the intestinal wall due to leaky gut, may also result in an inflammatory response. My point is that I wouldn't want to be pursuing a mold treatment for my daughter if in fact the same pro-inflammatory cytokines can be high due to leaky gut or SIBO, both of which my daughter has, or even allergens of some sort.
I suppose one could be more definitive in a diagnosis if one were to also test for HLA DR genes. However, this is a relatively expensive test and LabCorp is not included in our insurance coverage, whereas the other basic blood tests (e.g. C3a) would be in our plan and therefore covered. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the extra short term cost would be worth it if the HLA DR test results confirmed whether mold/toxins "were the thing". In my mind, I would give more weight to testing for things like C3a if it specifically confirmed if a backup detoxifying pathways is still activated due to mold/toxins. But, if high C3a could also be due to SIBO, leaky gut, allergens or even a general inflammatory response, then it wouldn't be as diagnostic as he infers.
Does anyone with a background in immunology have a good answer to know if diagnostic tests such as C3a are being oversold as a marker for mold exposure?
Regards,
Scotty81