Locht H et al. - A higher specificity or sensitivity of &alpha -fodrin antibody compared to anti-Ro/La could not be confirmed in this study. Furthermore, anti-La antibodies were strongly correlated to organ involvement and cytopenias, and thus could serve as a prognostic marker in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Methods
Aim was to to (1) compare sensitivity and specificity of different autoantibodies in pts with pSS. (2) Data on internal organ manifestations were correlated with presence of autoantibodies
Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 321 pts with pSS
Sera were tested for autoantibodies against &alpha -fodrin and recombinant Ro-52, Ro-60, and La proteins
Results
Antibodies to &alpha -fodrin were not diagnostically superior to conventional anti-Ro/La testing
IgG anti-La had the highest specificity
An association was found between presence of anti-La and internal organ manifestations or hematological abnormalities
The pattern of autoantibodies was relatively independent of disease duration
This indicated that these antibodies appeared early in pSS, probably even years before the first symptoms were manifest
See all
