What does a high protein count mean in blood work?

Question

Aaron Allen · Accepted Answer

Hyperproteinemia, or high blood protein, isn't a disease in itself and doesn't manifest in any symptoms, but it may be discovered by a lab test and indicate some other condition.

The main components of blood are blood cells and blood plasma. Red blood cells carry oxygen; leukocytes or white blood cells (WBCs) fight disease; and thrombocytes or platelets stop bleeding and form clots. The plasma is mostly composed of water, with the remaining molecules being proteins, amino acids, glucose, fatty acids, lipoproteins, and other biological molecules. It is not hyperproteinemia per se, since it is more the absence of one thing than the excess of another, but people who are dehydrated have high protein concentrations, though this is because the blood plasma is more concentrated, since there is less water in it. Real hyperproteinemia can occur when the body is fighting an infection or inflammation. White blood cells (WBC) will overproduce specific proteins called antibodies to fight off the pathogen. These antibodies bind to the antigens in a way that is complementary, and the immune system uses these antibodies to destroy the pathogen in different ways. Hyperproteinemia may result from the amount of paraprotein in the blood due to the cancer, multiple myeloma. Cancer of the plasma cells (known as B lymphocytes, a type of WBC) can cause a cluster of cancerous lymphocytes in the bone marrow, which damages production of other white blood cells and leads to excess of paraprotein, an abnormal antibody dangerous to the kidneys. Last but not least, amyloidosis is a dangerous disorder in which the accumulation of misfolded proteins, or amyloids, in the body's organs can lead to hyperproteinemia because the amyloids generated in the sick body end up in the bloodstream. Certain forms of amyloidosis can even result in organ failure that could be fatal. To sum up, hyperproteinemia is a symptom of numerous potential conditions, some of which are mentioned above, rather than a condition in and of itself.

Lucas Aguilar · Answer

undefined When a blood test reveals a high protein count, it usually means that there is a condition like liver or kidney disease, multiple myeloma, inflammation, infection, or another plasma cell disorder.