[Beacon Staff]

Weekly Poll - MGUS M-Spike

by Beacon Staff on Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:22 am

The first poll for this week asks about the M-spikes of people with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

Plasma cells typically produce a variety of antibodies that fight infection. However, people with MGUS, smoldering myeloma, multiple myeloma, and other related conditions have abnormal plasma cells that produce the same type of abnormal antibody that is unable to fight infection. This abnormal antibody is known as monoclonal protein (M-protein). This M-protein is often found in large amounts in the blood and urine. M-spike refers to the sharp peak that occurs on protein electrophoresis when M-protein is present.

A few clarifications about this week's poll:

First of all, this poll is for people diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (a similar poll is being run this week for people with smoldering myeloma, and separate polls on this topic will be run for people with multiple myeloma).

Second, if you are a caregiver or family member of an MGUS patient, feel free to answer on their behalf.

Third, this poll is open to any MGUS patient who has a stable M-spike. For the purpose of this poll, a stable M-spike would be one that has been nearly the same for at least the past three months. If your M-spike fluctuates between two of the poll's options, please select the option that more often fits your M-spike.

Fourth, it should be noted that M-spikes are typically reported with units of g/dL in the United States but are often reported with units of g/L in many other countries. To convert from g/L to g/dL, simply divide the number by 10. For example, an M-spike of 10 g/L is equivalent to 1 g/dL.

As always, feel free to post comments, thoughts, or feedback about this week's poll in the space below. They can be very useful to other readers.

Here's the link to this week's poll for people with smoldering multiple myeloma:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/weekly-poll-smoldering-myeloma-m-spike-t2286.html

And here's a link to a similar past poll for myeloma patients who are not currently being treated:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/weekly-poll-stable-m-spike-without-treatment-t2248.html

[Nancy Shamanna]

Re: Weekly Poll - MGUS M-Spike

by Nancy Shamanna on Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:59 am

iN an article in the Beacon last January, a description of patients having multiple 'M' spikes was published. Do MGUS patients sometimes have multiple 'M' spies (oligoclonal banding)?


URL to article: https://myelomabeacon.org/news/2013/01/16/different-m-spike-after-stem-cell-transplantation-linked-to-improved-survival-ash-2012/