This study does not seem to confirm the described association of anti-P antibodies with neuropsychiatric manifestations of SLE. However, it supports the anti-P antibody association with arthritis and disease activity as well as the presence of aCL. Based on our study and other related studies, we propose that, akin to anti-Sm and anti-dsDNA, anti-P antibodies detected by one agreed method may be considered for inclusion as a criterion for the classification of SLE.

No abstract

We evaluated the combined use of different fixatives for the identification of atypical perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (p-ANCA) in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Sera from 59 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 37 Crohn's disease (CD) patients, and from 64 healthy controls were studied. The IIF on ethanol-, formalin-, and methanol-fixed neutrophils was used for the detection of ANCA. Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was performed to identify the antigens recognized by ANCA. ANCAs were present in 35 of 59 (59.3%) UC patients and in 10 of 37 (27.02%) CD patients. Atypical p-ANCA positivity was strongly associated with UC disease (44.1% in UC vs. 8.1% in CD; p = 0.0002). The combined application of different fixatives contributed to make easy the differentiation between typical p-ANCA and atypical p-ANCA. Atypical p-ANCA determination appears to be a useful parameter for the distinction between UC and CD.

No abstract