Has anyone ever heard of these tests.

[Wilma Jenks]

C3D Circulating Immune Complexes

C3D Immune Complex

 

Immune Complex Detection

By C1Q Binding

[LNN]

C3D complexes are a general measurement of how activated the immune system is. When the body is healthy, C3D complexes will be less than 8. When you have an infection, you can sometimes see this number climb. If it stays high over an extended period of time, it will stay elevated.

 

My kids both have very high numbers - DS has stayed in the 50s despite IVIG, which should have lowered this number. When it didn't, it told us there was an underlying infection that prompted us to test for lyme. My daughter's numbers climbed from 25 to 48 to 98 over the course of a year. So we know she's also fighting something. We use these numbers to track what's going on with their immune systems.

 

But C3D is not indicative of a specific infection. It's a general measurement for how active the immune system is. It's sometimes correlated with arthritic pain - people with rheumatoid arthritis have elevated C3D complexes.In their case, it's an autoimmune reaction that's keeping the body in hyper-drive, not a bacterial infection (or not one that science has yet discovered).

 

There are two other immune complexes that are often tested by LLMDs - C3a and C4a. C3a is often correlated with lyme and C4a with mold. But the theory is the same - elevated numbers indicate immune system activation.