Question
I have arthalgia and a positive ana as well as a postive anti-dna test. I have not been diagnosed with lupus but am wondering if the positive anti-dna means its developing. Are there other conditions with the anti-dna, and is it always significant?
Answer
Anti-ds DNA is a fairly specific test for lupus. In fact the test is one of the criteria used to make the diagnosis (you need 4 of 11 criteria). There are very few false positives. Occasionally a drug reaction can cause a positive test.
