Clinical significance of anti-filaggrin antibody recognizing uncitrullinated filaggrin in rheumatoid arthritis.

Filaggrin is expressed in the cornified layer of epidermis and known to be one of the antigenic targets in rheumatoid arthritis. Although the citrulline residue in filaggrin is thought to be an antigenic determinant recognized by autoantibodies, the diagnostic sensitivity of synthetic citrullinated peptide is variable. To investigate the implication of anti-filaggrin antibodies recognizing uncitrullinated filaggrin in rheumatoid arthritis, we assayed antibody titers using unmodified recombinant filaggrin in the sera from 73 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 150 patients with other connective tissue diseases and 70 normal controls.

Juvenile onset ankylosing spondylitis (JAS) has less severe spinal disease course than adult onset ankylosing spondylitis (AAS): clinical comparison between JAS and AAS in Korea.

Objective: To assess the frequency of juvenile onset ankylosing spondylitis (JAS) in Korean patients with AS and to differentiate the clinical characteristics of JAS from adult onset ankylosing spondylitis (AAS).

Methods: We studied 98 consecutive patients with AS who visited the rheumatology clinic of a tertiary referral center and compared clinical and radiographic features of JAS (n = 41) with those of AAS (n = 57).

Results: Median age at onset in JAS was 14 years (range 7-16) and in AAS 22 years (range 17-38) (p < 0.