ANA-Negative Lupus Symptoms and Tests

By
Jeri Jewett-Tennant, MPH
Jeri Jewett-Tennant, MPH
Jeri Jewett-Tennant, MPH, is a medical writer and program development manager at the Center for Reducing Health Disparities.
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Updated on June 17, 2020
Medically reviewed
Verywell Health articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more.
 by
Grant Hughes, MD
Medically reviewed by Grant Hughes, MD

Grant Hughes, MD, is a board-certified rheumatologist. He is an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the head of rheumatology at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

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In simplest terms, ANA-negative lupus is a condition in which a person’s ANA (antinuclear antibody) immunofluorescence (IF) test comes back negative, but the person exhibits traits consistent with someone diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; also called lupus). The ANA IF test is an important tool in diagnosing lupus.

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Overview

Typically, if a person tests positive for the antinuclear antibody, it means only that the person could have lupus. Further tests are needed to determine if a person actually has lupus. Those include tests for double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), Sm (Smith), Ro/SSA (Sjogren's syndrome A), La/SSB (Sjogren's syndrome B), and RNP (ribonucleoprotein) antibodies.

If the ANA test comes back negative, then it's highly unlikely that the person has lupus.

However, in rare instances, a person will have a negative ANF IF test result but exhibit other traits consistent with lupus.

Antibody tests and symptoms go hand in hand. Antibodies alone do not diagnose the disease.

Does ANA-Negative Lupus Exist?

The general consensus is that ANA-negative lupus is very rare—and is more a term given to patients with “lupus-like” disease. Some physicians might call it “mixed connective tissue disease,” “undifferentiated connective tissue disease,” or “forme fruste lupus”—or “hidden lupus.” Each has specific and separate meaning and describes different forms of illness.

In short, the medical community cannot agree as to whether ANA-negative lupus truly exists as a medical condition. Most use it as a way to explain an illness that mimics lupus or may be lupus, but can’t be unequivocally diagnosed as lupus.

Put another way, physician Michael D. Lockshin, MD, writes: "The answer to the question, ‘Does ANA-negative lupus exist?’ is technically ‘yes,’ with a large number of buts, and ifs, and whens. Another answer is that the question is not very important. It is never critical to say definitively that a given patient does or does not have lupus. What is important is to evaluate the current symptoms, to put the symptoms into an overall context that includes blood tests, duration of symptoms, other illnesses, and medications, and to develop a treatment plan based on the total information rather than on a blood test alone."

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  1. Grygiel-górniak B, Rogacka N, Puszczewicz M. Antinuclear antibodies in healthy people and non-rheumatic diseases - diagnostic and clinical implications. Reumatologia. 2018;56(4):243-248. doi:10.5114/reum.2018.77976

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