macrophage activating syndrome (mas) is a life-threatening disease seen in autoimmune diseases including lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, still's disease, polyarteritis nodosa. it is characterized by fever, pancytopenia, liver failure, coagulopathy, and neurologic symptoms and high serum ferritin. a 27 yr. old female patient was admitted in shahid mostafa khomeini hospital (tehra...

BACKGROUND Anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) autoantibodies are considered hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS To determine concordance between assays for the detection of this marker, we analyzed 100 antinuclear antibody (ANA) positive sera with a homogeneous pattern and titers≥1:160 by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) on HEp-2 cells, 100 consecutive anti-dsDNA...

Introduction. Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is an acquired disease of the newborn caused by transplacental transfer of maternal anti-Ro/SSA, anti-La/SSB, and infrequently anti-U1 RNP antibodies. Methodology. This is a case report of a male infant delivered via Caesarean section at 36-week gestation following detection of fetal bradycardia during routine antenatal clinic visit. Results. The...

Methods We observed 187 children from 2 to 18 years (median 13 years, 25‰ – 9 years, 75‰ – 15 years); 70 (37,4%) boys, 117 (62,6%) – girls with systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), spondyloarthritis (SA), scleroderma (systemic/localized), dermatomyosites and mixed CTD (MCTD). All patients undergo common rheumatologic examination. Specific ANA were measured wi...

The complement system enhances antibody responses to T-dependent antigens, but paradoxically, deficiencies in C1 and C4 are strongly linked to autoantibody production in humans. In mice, disruption of the C1qa gene also results in spontaneous autoimmunity. Moreover, deficiencies in C4 or complement receptors 1 and 2 (CR1/CR2) lead to reduced selection against autoreactive B cells and impaired h...

BACKGROUND Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifaceted disease, and its diagnosis may be challenging. A blood test for the diagnosis of SLE, the Avise Lupus test, has been recently commercialized and validated in clinical studies. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the use of the Avise Lupus test by community rheumatologists. METHODS The study is a longitudinal, case-control, retrospective rev...

The complement system enhances antibody responses to T-dependent antigens, but paradoxically, deficiencies in C1 and C4 are strongly linked to autoantibody production in humans. In mice, disruption of the C1qa gene also results in spontaneous autoimmunity. Moreover, deficiencies in C4 or complement receptors 1 and 2 (CR1/CR2) lead to reduced selection against autoreactive B cells and impaired h...

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for request antinuclear antibody (ANA) in ANA-positive patients and final diagnosis these whether they developed a rheumatologic disease. Method: In retrospective study, files 559 with positive ANA were reviewed. Demographic, laboratory clinical characteristics noted. At end follow-up, recorded. Results: included 346 patients. 233 f...

BACKGROUND Anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFalpha) treatment may be associated with the production of autoantibodies, including lupus-specific autoantibodies. OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of autoantibodies in biological agent naive patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS 94 consecutive, prospectively collected, biological agent naive patients with PsA at the Un...

OBJECTIVE In 2013, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) participated in the Choosing Wisely campaign and devised a recommendation to avoid testing antinuclear antibody (ANA) subserologies without a positive ANA and clinical suspicion of disease. The goals of our study were to describe ANA and subserology ordering practices and predictors of ordering concurrent ANA and subserologies in a s...