Rituximab, CD19, Hashimotos encephalopathy
Rituximab, CD19 and Hashimotos encephalopathy I just got the results of my most recent CD19 test. Normal range for this test is between 6% and 19%. Twelve weeks ago my reading was <0.1 (almost none). Today’s results are 2.85%, so my immune system is reactivating. For most people that’s a good thing—but not for me. My doctor has ordered another round of Rituximab. CD19 is a test that shows how many B cells are in the blood. B cells are a type of white blood cell and part of the immune system. They produce antibodies when the body needs to fight an injury, infection, or disease. In March I was given Rituximab. Rituximab is a powerful immune suppressant that not only inhibits the body’s ability to produce B cells but also actively seeks out and destroys them in the blood. Hashimoto’s encephalopathy (the condition causing my neurological problems) is an autoimmune disease where my immune system misidentifies nerve cells as invaders and attacks them. Since my t...