[Autoantibodies to 5 types of collagen in patients with circumscribed scleroderma]

Elevated levels of autoantibodies to types I-V collagens were detected in local scleroderma patients. In 75 percent of cases the levels of autoantibodies to types I and III collagens were elevated, in 30 percent to type II collagens, in 25 percent to type IV collagens, and in 20 percent to type V collagens. Anticollagen autoantibody levels did not differ from the normal values in the patients with a prolonged (for more than a year) remission. A reduction of these antibody levels almost to the normal values was achieved in 10-12 months after tigason therapy during a prolonged clinical remission. The ratio between autoantibodies to types I and II collagens was found to be a constant both in the donors and patients with local scleroderma.