What is Polyclonal Hypergammaglobulinemia?
Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia is when your body produces too much of all types of antibodies (immunoglobulins) at once, rather than just one abnormal type. This happens when many different antibody-producing cells become overactive simultaneously, creating a broad increase in protective proteins in your blood. 1
Understanding the Pattern
- Think of it like an orchestra where all instruments are playing louder together, rather than just one instrument being too loud (which would be monoclonal gammopathy). 2
- On laboratory testing, this appears as a broad-based elevation across the gamma region on protein electrophoresis, representing increased production from many different plasma cell clones working at once. 2
- This is fundamentally different from conditions like multiple myeloma, where a single abnormal clone produces one specific type of antibody. 2
What Causes This?
The most common triggers are chronic inflammation, liver disease, and immune system problems. 1
Common underlying conditions include:
- Chronic infections that keep your immune system constantly activated 2
- Autoimmune diseases where your immune system is overactive 1
- Liver disease (especially cirrhosis) 1
- Chronic lung infections like bronchiectasis 2
- Certain rare immune disorders 1
Why Does It Matter?
- In autoimmune hepatitis, finding elevated immunoglobulins (particularly IgG levels >1.5 times normal) is a key diagnostic clue that helps doctors identify this treatable liver condition. 3
- The condition itself usually doesn't need direct treatment—managing the underlying disease that's causing it is what matters. 4
- Rarely, if levels get extremely high, it can cause blood to become too thick (hyperviscosity syndrome), requiring emergency treatment with plasmapheresis. 4, 1
Important Distinction
Your doctor must confirm this is truly polyclonal (many types of antibodies) and not monoclonal (one abnormal type), because monoclonal patterns can indicate blood cancers like multiple myeloma that require completely different treatment. 4, 2 This is done through additional testing called immunofixation electrophoresis. 2