When we need to check the immune system, we are usually prescribed a test called a blood count. Through blood tests it is possible to understand our state of health by determining the numerical ratio between white and red blood cells.
However, the blood count may not be sufficient.
Information panel
If we are fighting against a full-blown pathology or if we have even mild leg, back and head pain, knowing the efficiency of the immune system is very important.
The blood count may not be enough because lymphocytes have many subpopulations that affect the functionality of the immune system.
The study of these lymphocyte subpopulations allows to obtain a complete view of the actions that the body’s defenses put in place against viruses, bacteria, parasites or cancer cells.
Through a medical prescription it is possible to request analyzes for the lymphocyte panel. It will then be necessary to inquire about the analysis laboratories that carry out surveys on the typing of these subpopulations.
These are in-depth and reliable investigations made through peripheral blood with which to understand the effectiveness of the response given by our body to the pathologies that attack it.
What will be considered is not an absolute value of each lymphocyte subpopulation but the quantitative ratio between the various subpopulations.
Thanks to the lymphocyte panel it is possible to know not only the quantitative relationships but also the dynamics that are characterizing these cells. In this way we can establish the clinical moment that the immune system is experiencing.
If we have pain in the legs, back and head, we check the immune system not through blood counts but with these tests that few people know
The type of response that the immune system offers when faced with a pathology that affects our organism depends on the balanced and overall action proposed by all the components.
The activity carried out by the interleukins is also indicated inside the panel.
Interleukins are molecules that the body produces when infections or tumors arise and they represent the immune system’s response to these outbreaks.
All the columns of the panel provide information that allows us to understand the impact that diseases have on the body but also the effectiveness of the therapies in progress.
It is also possible to understand if the immune system has recognized certain bacterial or viral antigens and if we are in a more or less acute phase of the attack.
The study of some subpopulations would also make it possible to study lymphocytes of a certain age as if it were a memory of the immune system.
And the percentage of lymphocytes through which to determine if the immune system is running out of fuel and what potential it still has.
This type of analysis cannot be missing in the case of autoimmune diseases, immunodeficiencies or chronic leukemia but it is also essential in the case of transplants.
Ailments such as fever or widespread aches that cannot be explained by more common tests may require thorough investigation. It is always necessary not to underestimate these situations if they continue over time.