Anti Smooth Muscle Antibody ASMA Test

ASMA test is done if any liver damage is suspected. Your doctor will recommend an ASMA test if the following signs and symptoms are seen:

• Hepatomegaly, which is characterised by an enlarged liver
• Abdominal swelling
• Tenderness in the liver
• Darker urine
• Pale-coloured stools
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Pain in joints
• Yellowing of eyes or skin
• Pain in the stomach
• Rashes on skin
• Long-term fever

ASMA levels can be raised in the blood in the following diseases:

• Autoimmune hepatitis
• Chronic hepatitis C infection 
• Melanoma
• Cancer of breasts or ovaries
• Liver cancers
• Infectious diseases

Your doctor would recommend asma test for you if you have chronic liver disease or when you have, he needs to check if you have AIH which is autoimmune hepatitis.

AIH signs and symptoms include:

• Hepatomegaly which is enlarged liver
• Abdominal swelling
• Tenderness on the liver
• Darker urine
• Pale-coloured stools

Auto-immune hepatitis is a disease that occurs when the body's immune system starts attacking or making antibodies against liver cells. 

The main cause of auto-immune hepatitis is unknown, but genetic and environmental factors are considered to play vital roles. 

If diagnosed early, it can be treated by administering immuno-suppresant drugs. Untreated auto-immune hepatitis leads to liver cirrhosis, ultimately leading to liver failure. In case of advanced liver failure and unresponsiveness to drugs, a liver transplant has to be done.

Symptoms

1. Fatigue
2. Rashes on body
3. Joint pain
4. Loss of menstrual periods
5. Enlarged liver
6. Swelling of limbs

Risk Factors

1. Females have more prone to auto-immune hepatitis than males.
2. Heredity: Evidence supports that auto-immune hepatitis runs in families.
3. History of Infections: The diseases lower the immune strength of the body. History of diseases like measles, herpes simplex and hepatitis A, B, C or D can predispose the patient to auto-immune hepatitis.
4. Auto-immune disease: Auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism and celiac disease lead to a weakened immune system and thus increase the chances of autoimmune hepatitis.

Early diagnosis has to be made to prevent the disease from causing further damage. Untreated auto-immune hepatitis leads to permanent liver damage, ultimately leading to liver failure.

You don't need to prepare for anything before the ASMA test. Only a blood sample is needed for the ASMA test. You can give the blood sample at a hospital, laboratory or

any healthcare clinic.

Healthcare professionals can come home to collect the sample in case the patient is not able to go to the laboratory because of any other health condition.

The blood sample for the ASMA test is taken in the same way as other blood tests. A healthcare professional will collect the blood sample in the following ways:

• An elastic band will be wrapped around your upper arm by a healthcare professional as it will stop the blood and increase the pressure, which will help healthcare professionals to find the vein easily.
• After finding your vein, a healthcare professional will clean your skin with an antiseptic solution, and a needle will be inserted and attached to a tube to collect the blood. You can feel a pinching sensation or some kind of discomfort during the insertion of the needle.
• After the collection of blood, the elastic band will be removed first and then the needle will be taken out of your vein. A gauze dipped in antiseptic will be placed in place of it; pressure has to be applied to stop the bleeding.
• After the removal of the needle, you may experience throbbing pain for some time, but many patients do not experience anything and severe complications are rare.

Normal Results: Dilution equal to or less than 1:20 signifies normal results. It shows that a significant amount of anti-smooth muscle antibodies are not present. Abnormal Results: Titration level equal to or more than 1:40 shows high levels of anti-smooth muscle antibodies, which means the body is making antibodies against liver cells. The final diagnosis cannot be based exclusively on the level of anti-smooth muscle antibody. Your doctor can perform other tests to confirm the disease or a biopsy can be performed on smooth muscle liver cells for final diagnosis. ASMA levels can be raised in Chronic hepatitis Infectious mononucleosis Some cancers Autoimmune hepatitis is more common in increased ASMA levels, and an F-actin antibody test can be done to confirm auto-immune hepatitis over other conditions.

Positive result indicates presence of ASMA autoantibodies which may occur in various liver diseases ( autoimmune hepatitis, liver cirrhosis ). The determination of the antibodies is of diagnostic importance in autoimmune chronic active hepatitis. ASMA are also present in infectious mononucleosis, viral disease, SLE, breast / ovarian carcinomas and malignant melanoma. 
Low levels may also be detected in primary biliary cirrhosis, alcohol related liver cirrhosis, obstruction of the biliary ducts and in healthy individuals. 
Results should be correlated with the disease activity. 

The test measures the levels of ASMA antibodies in the serum.