Chronic spontaneous urticaria and thyroid autoimmune disease: a follow up study of patients with chronic urticaria for 17 years

Abstract Background: Early detection of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in asymptomatic subjects is useful to predict autoimmune diseases years before diagnosis. ANA have been determined by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using human epithelial type 2 (HEp-2) cells, which is considered the gold standard technique. Multiplex technology (BioPlex ANA Screen) has been introduced for ANA evaluation in recent years. Nevertheless, concordance between BioPlex and IIF is low and there is no harmonization between both methods for detection of autoantibodies. This study has aimed to clarify the clinical significance of autoantibodies detected by BioPlex ANA Screen in subjects with undiagnosed clinical suspicion of autoimmune disease and to determine the predictive value of autoantibodies detected by BioPlex ANA Screen. Methods: A 3-year follow-up study was performed of 411 subjects without a clear diagnosis of autoimmune diseases in whom autoantibodies were detected by BioPlex ANA Screen that were negative by IIF on HEp-2 cells. Results: At 3 years of follow-up, 312 (76%) subjects were positive for autoantibodies by IIF and 99 subjects continued to be negative. A diagnosis of autoimmune disease was found in most of the subjects (87%). Conclusions: BioPlex ANA Screen has greater sensitivity than IIF on HEp-2 cells for autoantibodies detection. Early detection of these antibodies by BioPlex can predict possible development of autoimmune diseases.

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NSAID-induced urticaria/angioedema does not evolve into chronic urticaria: a 12-year follow-up study

Allergy ◽

10.1111/all.12335 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 69 (4) ◽

pp. 438-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

I. Doña ◽

N. Blanca-López ◽

M. J. Torres ◽

F. Gómez ◽

J. Fernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Urticaria ◽

Follow Up Study

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Exploring Systemic Autoimmunity in Thyroid Disease Subjects

Journal of Immunology Research ◽

10.1155/2018/6895146 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Thushani Siriwardhane ◽

Karthik Krishna ◽

Vinodh Ranganathan ◽

Vasanth Jayaraman ◽

Tianhao Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autoimmune Disease ◽

Autoimmune Diseases ◽

Thyroid Disease ◽

Clinical Laboratory ◽

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ◽

Systemic Autoimmune Disease ◽

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases ◽

Autoimmune Thyroid ◽

Follow Up Study

Introduction. Individuals with one autoimmune disease are at risk of developing a second autoimmune disease, but the pathogenesis or the sequential occurrence of multiple autoimmune diseases has not been established yet. In this study, we explored the association and sequential occurrence of antibodies in thyroid disease and systemic autoimmune disease subjects. We evaluated thyroid hormones, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid autoantibodies, anti-thyroperoxidase (anti-TPO), and anti-thyroglobulin (Tg) to comprehend the association with systemic autoimmune autoantibodies, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), and autoantibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) in subjects with thyroid-related symptoms. Methods. A total of 14825 subjects with thyroid-related symptoms were tested at Vibrant America Clinical Laboratory for thyroid markers (TSH, FT4, anti-TPO, and anti-Tg) and an autoimmune panel (ANA panel and ENA-11 profile) from March 2016 to May 2018. Thyroid-positive (based on TSH and FT4 levels), anti-TPO-positive, and anti-Tg-positive subjects were assessed for the prevalence of ANA and anti-ENA antibodies. A 2-year follow-up study was conducted to assess the sequential order of appearance of autoimmune markers in thyroid and systemic autoimmune diseases. Results. In the retrospective analysis, 343/1671 (20.5%), 2037/11235 (18.1%), and 1658/9349 (17.7%) of thyroid+, anti-TPO+, and anti-Tg+ subjects were found to be seropositive for ANA. Anti-ENA was detected in a higher prevalence than ANA with 475/1671 (28.4%), 3063/11235 (27.3%), and 2511/9349 (26.9%) in the same groups of subjects, respectively. Our results are found to be much higher than the reported prevalence of anti-ENA in general population. During the 2-year follow-up study, anti-TPO appeared significantly earlier than ANA and anti-ENA in an average of 253 (±139) and 227 (±127) days, respectively. Conclusions. A high prevalence of anti-ENA and ANA was found to be coexisting with autoimmune thyroid disease subjects, with anti-TPO occurring prior to the onset of ANA and anti-ENA. Therefore, frequent follow-ups and evaluation of ANA and anti-ENA in subjects with anti-TPO positivity would be beneficial in early detection of other systemic autoimmune diseases.

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Electron Microscopy of Human Gallstones

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100065523 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 29 ◽

pp. 296-297

Author(s):

C. Wolpers ◽

R. Blaschke

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Bile Pigment ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Triclinic Crystal System ◽

X Ray ◽

Follow Up Study ◽

Infra Red ◽

Main Components

Scanning microscopy was used to study the surface of human gallstones and the surface of fractures. The specimens were obtained by operation, washed with water, dried at room temperature and shadowcasted with carbon and aluminum. Most of the specimens belong to patients from a series of X-ray follow-up study, examined during the last twenty years. So it was possible to evaluate approximately the age of these gallstones and to get information on the intensity of growing and solving.Cholesterol, a group of bile pigment substances and different salts of calcium, are the main components of human gallstones. By X-ray diffraction technique, infra-red spectroscopy and by chemical analysis it was demonstrated that all three components can be found in any gallstone. In the presence of water cholesterol crystallizes in pane-like plates of the triclinic crystal system.

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