Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in patients with idiopathic inflammatory-demyelinating diseases

We assessed the clinical significance of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA) in patients with idiopathic inflammatory-demyelinating disease (IIDD).

A consecutive cohort of 269 subjects with IIDD and 595 controls was analyzed retrospectively.

Among all subjects, ANCA positivity rates were low [9.5% in a perinuclear pattern (pANCA) and 2.3% in a cytoplasmic pattern (cANCA)]. One of the 117 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) had cANCA and 2 had pANCA. Ten patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO; 13.9%) had pANCA and 3 (4.2%) had cANCA. Four patients with recurrent longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (RLETM; 19.0%) had pANCA and 1 (4.8%) had cANCA. In monophasic TM, 22.9% were pANCA seropositive. Among patients with brainstem syndromes, 14.3% were pANCA seropositive. Patients with NMO, RLETM or monophasic TM had higher pANCA levels than patients with MS. There was a positive association between spinal cord (SC) lesions and ANCA, and especially between longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis and ANCA. Among anti-aquaporin 4 antibody-positive patients, ANCA-positive patients (n = 16) were older and had higher Expanded Disability Status Scale scores, more antinuclear antibodies, longer SC lesions and fewer brain abnormalities than the ANCA-negative patients (n = 68). In the NMO subgroup, ANCA-positive patients were older and had more antinuclear antibodies and longer SC lesions than ANCA-negative patients.

Among the IIDDs, we found a higher occurrence of ANCA in patients with NMO spectrum disorders than in patients with MS. Therefore, ANCA is another interesting marker of autoimmunity in IIDD patients, especially those with anti-aquaporin 4 antibody.