IgA anticardiolipin and IgA anti-β2 glycoprotein I antibody positivity determined by fluorescence enzyme immunoassay in primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Background: Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity as well as blood antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies such as anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-β2 glycoprotein I (anti-β2GPI) antibodies of the IgG/IgM isotype and lupus anticoagulant (LA). The clinical significance of aCL and anti-β2GPI antibodies of the IgA isotype in PAPS is still a controversial issue.

Methods: Sera and plasma were collected from 84 PAPS patients (54 with thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity and 30 with pregnancy morbidity alone), 66 seronegative patients (subjects with clinical manifestations of PAPS although with negative results on conventional antiphospholipid antibody testing), and 78 healthy blood donors.

What is behind the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmatic antibodies in chronic liver disease?

Background: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA) have been detected in serum from patients affected by autoimmune CLD, and to a lesser extent, in serum of patients affected by non autoimmune CLD. The clinical significance of ANCA in these disorders is still unclear.

Aims: To explore the clinical and diagnostic significance of ANCA in CLD.

Recent advances in diagnostic technologies for autoimmune diseases.

The investigation of autoimmunity provides an interest challenge in "omics" research and, particularly, proteome research, as autoimmune diseases are common disorders of unsolved etiology that occur in a wide range of manifestations, in all of which tissues and organs are attacked by the body's own immune system. Autoantibodies are a hallmark of many autoimmune diseases and the presence of autoantibodies is a distinctive and key characteristic of autoimmune diseases. Conventionally, the study of autoimmune response has always been conducted by analysing the presence and/or concentration of individual antibodies in biological fluids.

A new indirect chemiluminescent immunoassay to measure anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies.

Objectives: Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG) determination using second-generation (human antigen) enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs) is a very accurate test to diagnose celiac disease (CD). In this study, we compared 2 second-generation ELISAs (Celikey tTG; Pharmacia Diagnostics GmbH & Co, Freiburg, Germany, and QuantaLite; Inova Diagnostics, San Diego, CA) and antiendomysial antibodies (EMAs) with a new indirect chemiluminescence immunoassay (LIAISON tTG; DiaSorin S.p.

Western blot immunoassay for HSP-70 antibodies in idiopathic tinnitus: a preliminary report.

Objectives: Our preliminary study investigated the role of nonspecific immunologic tests and immunoassay for heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70) in supporting the possibility of an autoimmune inner ear process determining idiopathic tinnitus.

Methods: Thirty-six consecutive patients with idiopathic tinnitus without other otologic or autoimmune diseases and 20 healthy blood donor subjects underwent determinations of circulating immune complexes (CICs) and other nonspecific immunologic factors and immunoassay for HSP-70.

Results: The mean CIC values were 4.