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Anticentromere antibodies--clinical correlates.
1Department of Rheumatology/Immunology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
The Journal of Rheumatology
|December 1, 1988
Summary
Anticentromere antibodies are linked to diverse conditions, not just CREST scleroderma. This study found them in patients with drug-induced lupus, a novel association.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Rheumatology
- Autoimmunity
Background:
- Anticentromere antibodies (ACA) are often associated with the CREST variant of systemic sclerosis.
- Their specificity as a screening test in unselected rheumatic disease populations requires further evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the clinical characteristics and diagnoses of patients with anticentromere antibodies.
- To assess the specificity of ACA in a broader rheumatic disease cohort.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 11,594 sera tested for antinuclear antibodies.
- Identification and clinical correlation of 72 sera positive for anticentromere antibodies.
Main Results:
- 1,502 out of 11,594 sera were positive for antinuclear antibodies.
- 68 patients (72 sera) tested positive for anticentromere antibodies.
- ACA were associated with diverse clinical findings beyond CREST syndrome, including drug-induced lupus.
Conclusions:
- The association of ACA with CREST scleroderma may be less specific in unselected populations.
- ACA presence in drug-induced lupus is a newly reported finding.
- ACA testing may have broader diagnostic implications in rheumatic diseases.