BACKGROUND Antibodies to cardiolipin and other phospholipids have been associated with recurrent thrombotic events, including stroke. METHODS Over a 16 month period we assessed an unselected cohort of 151 ischemic stroke patients for the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies. Patients with known systemic lupus erythematosis, systemic sclerosis, or Sjögrens Syndrome were excluded. Sera from ...

Ro ribonucleoproteins are a class of antigenic ribonucleoproteins associated with rheumatic autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögrens syndrome in humans. Ro ribonucleoproteins are mostly composed of the 60-kDa Ro protein and small cytoplasmic RNAs, called Y RNAs, of unknown function. In eukaryotes, where Ro has been found to associate with damaged or mutant RNAs, it has...

To cite: Zalewska KI, Brown A, McKeon DJ. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2014205118 DESCRIPTION A 64-year-old woman presented with chest pain, wheeze and haemoptysis. She had a history of previous pulmonary embolism (PE) and Sjögrens syndrome. A chest radiograph was unremarkable. CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) showed no evidence of PE; however, a m...

A cDNA library was prepared from peripheral blood lymphocytes of an autoimmune patient with primary Sjögrens' syndrome. The cDNA library was screened with the patients own autoimmune serum being monospecific for the nuclear autoantigen La/SS-B. Thereby an alternative type of La mRNA was identified that differed from the known La mRNA due to an exchange of the exon 1. Sequencing of the genomic r...

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology. The disease affects middle-aged women and is characterized by the destruction of the intralobular bile ducts that causes consequent cholestasis. AMA is a hallmark of PBC, composed mostly of IgG and IgM class. The M2 antibody is the most specific one, with sensitivity range of 54-98% depending on type of tes...