Aim: Serum antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are occasionally noted in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We examined the significance of ANA in NASH.
Methods: We compared clinicopathological features in patients with ANA-positive NASH (n = 35) and ANA-negative NASH (n = 36). Inflammatory cell profiles and the distribution of oxidative stress markers were also examined immunohistochemically.
Results: ANA-positive NASH was significantly associated with female gender (P = 0.005), high degree of portal inflammation (P = 0.039), interface activity (P = 0.036) and hepatocellular ballooning (P = 0.0008). In addition, ANA of high titer (320-fold or more) was significantly associated with the histological grade and stage of NASH (P = 0.02). The degree of steatosis wais rather mild in the high-titer ANA group(P = 0.01). The analysis of inflammatory cell profiles revealed that CD3-positive T cells were predominant and plasma cells were rather few in the portal area and hepatic lobules in both ANA-positive and ANA-negative groups. There was no difference in the distribution of oxidative stress markers between ANA-positive and ANA-negative groups.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that the presence of ANA may be related to the progression of NASH and that a different type of autoimmune mechanism may be involved in the pathogenesis of NASH with ANA, compared to the pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1872-034X.2007.00150.x | DOI Listing |
Clin Chem Lab Med
January 2025
Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata, Udine, Italy.
Objectives: External quality assessment (EQA) programs play a pivotal role in harmonizing laboratory practices, offering users a benchmark system to evaluate their own performance and identify areas requiring improvement. The objective of this study was to go through and analyze the UK NEQAS "Immunology, Immunochemistry and Allergy" EQA reports between 2012 and 2021 to assess the overall level of harmonization in autoimmune diagnostics and identify areas requiring improvement for future actions.
Methods: The EQA programs reviewed included anti-nuclear (ANA), anti-dsDNA, anti-centromere, anti-extractable nuclear antigen (ENA), anti-phospholipids, anti-neutrophil cytoplasm (ANCA), anti-proteinase 3 (PR3), anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO), anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), mitochondrial (AMA), liver-kidney-microsomal (LKM), smooth muscle (ASMA), APCA, and celiac disease antibodies.
Rheumatol Int
January 2025
Department of Rheumatology, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland.
Scleromyxedema is a rare chronic fibromucinous disorder characterized by a generalized papular and sclerodermoid eruption. Despite its clinical significance, no definitive therapeutic guidelines exist for scleromyxedema, making management challenging. Herein, we present a case of a 76-year-old female patient referred for evaluation of systemic sclerosis, presenting with distinctive cutaneous manifestations and neurological symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurol Sci
December 2024
Neurological Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel; Center for Neurological Restoration, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, USA.
Background: Patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) can have a wide range of neurological manifestations. Neurological complaints may be the presenting symptom of CTD. Therefore, screening for CTD using anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) is a common practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) has previously been used as an umbrella term to describe a spectrum of hypocomplementemic glomerular diseases, which are rare causes of end stage kidney disease (ESKD). We present a 22-year-old man with a well-established medical history who had been complaining of 4 days of frothy dark urine, bilateral lower limb swelling, and puffiness on his face. For a month before his presentation, he had many bilateral skin lesions on his lower limbs that were leaking pus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
Department of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA.
The term Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is used to describe complex symptoms related to vascular compromise, which are typically exacerbated by cold-induced vasoconstriction, emotional stress, or other sympathomimetic factors. In almost all patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc), the first symptom is RP, often two to five years before any other symptom of scleroderma. The clinical course and severity of this disease are variable and highly fatal in some individuals, which has led to the development of strategies for timely diagnosis; hence, criteria for the very early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis have been established.
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