Measles Antibodies

[Sidney]

When I was pregnant with my second, my OB mentioned casually, when looking at my bloodwork, that my measles antibodies were extremely high. He said he had never seen anyone with numbers higher than his, except mine, and he had measles as a child. I have never had measles, and my numbers were not that high with my first pregnancy. (I did not know yet that I had Sjogren's during either pregnancy).

Could these numbers be from the Sjogren's? I've heard systemic lupus can give such result but I haven't been diagnosed with that (yet, anyway).

I'm going to ask the rheumy about this one, but since I don't see her for another month I thought I'd pose this here.
*I should add that he could have been referring to German measles (rubella).

[slccom]

Ruebella would be what he was testing for, since an infection while you are pregnant can lead to serious consequences for the baby.


You can have that infection and not have any noticeable symptoms.



http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rubella/DS00332/METHOD=print
"Symptoms
Photograph of rubella rash    Rubella

The signs and symptoms of rubella are often so mild that they're difficult to notice, especially in children. If signs and symptoms do occur, they generally appear between two and three weeks after exposure to the virus. They typically last about two to three days and may include: "
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http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pathology-1640/2010/4/Rubella-titres.htm
Answer
I assume that this is for Rubella IgG. These levels would indicate current or past exposure to rubella or vaccination

your obstetrician should evaluate theses values in light of you being pregnant and having all the signs and symptoms you mentioned.
False positive results can be obtained if there is cross reactivity with others like rheumatoid factor.
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There is more research that I found but it wasn't what I was looking for. Rubella infection, like other viral infections, can cause autoimmune disease. I was trying to see if there was cross-reactivity simply between the antibodies to rubella and lupus or other auto-immune antibodies, but I'm just too darned tired to look right now.

Sharon

[Sidney]

Thank you so much! You are wonderful! I was vaccinated as a child but apparently my numbers were incredibly high. This information is very interesting.

I know I'll never understand everything about this condition but somehow knowing as much as possible makes me feel empowered.