Q: I have a high immunoglobulin IgM 826 (normal 60 - 263). My sedimentation rate is 23 and my ANA is 1:80 speckled. Could this high IGM be a false positive for syphilis? All other tests came back normal. If not syphilis, then what are the other areas of research? I am taking Ovcon, Elavil for chronic pain, Procardia XL for Raynauds, Lodine for arthralgia, Hydrochlorithiazide for high BP as of last week, Norco prn pain.

A:IgM is a type of immunoglobulin, which is large in size and its higher molecular weight tends to confine it within blood vessels and prevents it from crossing the placenta. It is the earliest immunoglobulin to be synthesized in response to an antigenic challenge for example, following vaccination antibodies of the IgM class are produced 10 to 14 days later. IgM is abundant in the blood but is not normally present in organs or tissues. It is primarily responsible for ABO blood grouping and rheumatoid factor, yet is involved in the immunologic reaction to other infections, such as hepatitis. The levels may be raised in liver disease, chronic infections, auto-immune disorders and some types of plasma cell cancers. Isolated raised IgM levels would be difficult to interpret in the absence of clinical details.