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Sensitivity and Specificity for Primary Sjögren's Syndrome of IgA and IgG Anti-α-Fodrin Antibodies Detected by ELISA
AMELIA RUFFATTI, PIERANTONIO OSTUNI, PANAGIOTIS GRYPIOTIS, COSTANTINO BOTSIOS, MARTA TONELLO, CHIARA GRAVA, MARIA FAVARO, and SILVANO TODESCO
ABSTRACT. Objective. To investigate the sensitivity and specificity of anti-α-fodrin antibodies in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Methods. IgA and IgG anti-α-fodrin antibodies were measured in the sera of 80 patients with pSS, 60 blood donors matched for age and sex, 50 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 30 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 20 with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 10 with polymyositis or dermatomyositis (PM/DM) by an ELISA method employing recombinant human α-fodrin as antigen. Results. The sensitivity of IgA and IgG anti-α-fodrin antibodies for pSS was 32.50% and 21.25%, respectively. When the prevalence of these antibodies in patients with SLE, RA, SSc, and PM/DM was evaluated, we observed specificity of these antibodies of 68.18% and 79.09%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for pSS of the combined determination of IgA and IgG anti-α-fodrin antibodies were 40% and 58.18%, respectively. Conclusion. The prevalences of IgA and IgG anti-α-fodrin antibodies in our patients with pSS and other chronic autoimmune diseases have induced us to doubt their use as diagnostic markers of pSS. (J Rheumatol 2004;31:504-7) Key Indexing Terms:
α-FODRIN
From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Division of Rheumatology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. A. Ruffatti, MD, Associate Professor of Rheumatology; P.A. Ostuni, MD, Assistant Professor of Rheumatology; P. Grypiotis, PhD, Research Biologist; C. Botsios, MD, Fellow in Rheumatology; M. Tonello, PhD, Research Biologist; C. Grava, MD, Fellow in Rheumatology; M. Favaro, MD, Assistant Professor of Rheumatology; S. Todesco, MD, Professor of Rheumatology. Address reprint requests to Dr. A. Ruffatti, Divisione di Reumatologia, Policlinico Universitario, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. E-mail: amelia.ruffatti@unipd.it Submitted October 4, 2002; revision accepted August 11, 2003. |