04/30 - Black Kitty - IAA update

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Sandy and Black Kitty

Sandy and Black Kitty

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Hello there :cool:

FWIW - An interesting piece to the mysterious puzzle of IAA. . .

For those that may not know his history,after it became clear that BK had some sort of high dose condition and after the test for Acro came back normal, BK had his first IAA test in September of 2008. The result was 84%, extreme insulin resistance. In early November of 2008 we saw a change, insulin sensitivity seemed to be returning. After that exciting first glimmer that the IAA had broken and things were turning around for BK, I wanted to have him tested again, to see if the result would be lower. His vet told me to save my money - there would be no difference. At my insistence that she humor me, she sent another blood sample to MSU. In spite of the return of insulin sensitivity the results were the same - 84%. I figured it was like someone who has been exposed to TB - once exposed they always test positive, in spite of being asymptomatic.

Fast forward to the present -
BK had an appointment for a blood draw recently, to check his free T4 level (he is on medication for hyperthyroid) and I requested he be re-tested for IAA at the same time, out of a burning curiosity. This type of appointment did not involve seeing his vet, the techs just draw the blood and the vet calls me with the results. The free T4 results were back the next day and the vet called to let me know the results - looking good. She said the IAA results would take about a week and asked me why I wanted him tested - she would have told me to save my money. I explained that it was a burning question for me and worth the cost just to know.

To my surprise, the result was 5%
(that's right, five percent. . .single digit..BK)

The explanation his vet gave is that in the absence of antigen stimulation from exogenous insulin for 4+ years, no further antibodies have been produced and the ones that he had have died off .

So there we have it.
I'm still digesting it all.. .and more questions are forming in my mind.
The world of antibodies seems so complex...and confounding. :cool:
 
I'm intrigued as well. I expect once you break through the resistance, and he's had some time to be regulated, that it makes sense. But I've seen a few who have had both IAA and IGF-1 retested, and the numbers consistently stay high.

Very cool!
 
Hello again :cool:

I took BK in for a check up and BW the other day, and since I managed to lose track of the copy I had asked for aother copy of the BW from April, including the IAA.

Below the results I noticed the following note from the MSU vet to BKs vet :
Endocrinology Interpretation: I note that there were very elevated insulin autoantibody index results on previous samples from this cat. It appears production of these insulin-binding antibodies has not persisted. What was the clinical response?
Click to expand...
The vet BK had back when the IAA was diagnosed moved out of state and his current vet has not had to deal with his FD, so I'm sure she didn't respond (besides, she thought I was loopy for getting BK re-tested),

I'm pleasantly surprised that the vet at MSU noticed and is inquiring, particularly since it's been 6 years since his first IAA test.
I'm going to fill him in on 'the clinical response' and see if they have any further light to shed on IAA in kitties :cool:
 
Great! That would be good to know -- and provide hope for other IAA kitties, that once you break through La Resistance -- a happy, health cat emerges on the other side --
 
Good catch on that notation! That's all the more reason for us to keep a notebook of all the tests, procedures, blood work, and results in a binder. We don't always have the benefit of the same vet for the duration (though sometimes that's not a bad thing)! ;-)

I hope MSU was more receptive to your contact than they were when I initially called about the tests for Grayson. They didn't want to speak with me, they wanted my vet to call. After I explained that I learned about the tests from FDMB, and would have to convince my vet to have the tests done (not that she resisted), then they told me about the pre-paid mailer and answered a few questions! Maybe they realized that most people having these tests run were coming from FDMB!

Anyways, good that they recognized a re-test!
 
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