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Serum protein electrophoresis showing a paraprotein (spike/peak in the gamma zone) in a patient with multiple myeloma.. A myeloma protein is an abnormal antibody (immunoglobulin) or (more often) a fragment thereof, such as an immunoglobulin light chain, that is produced in excess by an abnormal monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells, typically in multiple myeloma or Monoclonal gammopathy of ...
Monoclonal gammopathy, also known as paraproteinemia, is the presence of excessive amounts of myeloma protein or monoclonal gamma globulin in the blood.It is usually due to an underlying immunoproliferative disorder or hematologic neoplasms, especially multiple myeloma.
Smouldering myeloma is a disease classified as intermediate in a spectrum of step-wise progressive diseases termed plasma cell dyscrasias.In this spectrum of diseases, a clone of plasma cells secreting monoclonal paraprotein (also termed myeloma protein or M protein) causes the relatively benign disease of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.
The recent introduction of a commercial immunoassay for measurement of free light chains potentially offers an improvement in monitoring disease progression and response to treatment, particularly where the paraprotein is difficult to measure accurately by electrophoresis (for example in light chain myeloma, or where the paraprotein level is ...
In the majority of cases (63.5%), the paraprotein level was <1 g/dL, while only a very small group had levels over 2 g/dL. [15] A study of monoclonal protein levels conducted in Ghana showed a prevalence of MGUS of approximately 5.9% in African men over the age of 50. [16]
There are typically low levels in haemolytic anaemia (haptoglobin is a suicide molecule which binds with free haemoglobin released from red blood cells and these complexes are rapidly removed by phagocytes). Haptoglobin is raised as part of the acute phase response, resulting in a typical elevation in the alpha-2 zone during inflammation.
Blood tests show the level of IgM in the blood and the presence of proteins, or tumor markers, that are the key signs of Waldenström macroglobulinemia. A bone marrow biopsy provides a sample of bone marrow, usually from the lower back of the pelvis bone. The sample is extracted through a needle and examined under a microscope.
This results in a lower antibody count, which impairs the immune system, increasing risk of infection. Hypogammaglobulinemia may result from a variety of primary genetic immune system defects, such as common variable immunodeficiency , [ 1 ] or it may be caused by secondary effects such as medication, blood cancer, or poor nutrition, or loss of ...