Autoantibody-disease associations
Core concept
- High-yield antibody-to-disease matching across specialties -- the discriminating antibody, not the disease description, is usually the tested fact
Connective tissue disease / RA
| Antibody | Association | Discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-CCP | Rheumatoid arthritis | More specific than RF for RA; also predicts erosive disease/worse prognosis |
| RF | RA (also Sjogren's, cryoglobulinaemia, chronic infection) | Sensitive but not specific |
| Anti-Ro/SSA, anti-La/SSB | Sjogren's, SLE | Anti-Ro crosses placenta -> congenital/neonatal heart block -- highest risk window 18-24 weeks gestation |
| Anti-U1RNP | Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) -- defining antibody | High titre without other CTD-specific antibodies |
| Anti-dsDNA, anti-Sm | SLE | dsDNA titre tracks disease activity (esp. lupus nephritis); anti-Sm highly specific but not sensitive |
3 more sections, plus exam facts
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