ANTI-SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE [ASCA] AND ANTI-NEUTROPHIL CYTOPLASMIC [ANCA] ANTIBODIES ARE NOT INCREASED IN TAKAYASU ARTERITIS

Objectives: Takayasu arteritis (TA) may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As there is such an overlap and since both diseases show granulomatous histopathological lesions we reasoned similar biological pathways might be implicated in both conditions. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic (ANCA) antibodies - serological markers for IBD-among patients with TA

Quantiferon-TB Gold in tube assay for the screening of tuberculosis before and during treatment with tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists

Introduction: The usefulness of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) release assays for tuberculosis screening before tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists and for monitoring during treatment is a contraversial issue. The aims of this study were to determine whether TNF-alpha antagonists affect the results of the Quantiferon-TB Gold in-tube assay (QTF); to assess how QTF performs in comparison with the tuberculin skin test (TST) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are about to start treatment with TNF-alpha antagonists, RA patients who are not candidates for treatment with TNF-alpha antagonists, rheumatology patients with confirmed current or past tuberculosis infection, and healthy controls, and to determine the specificity of the QTF test to differentiate leprosy patients, another group of patients infected with mycobacteria

A comparison of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody prevalence in patients treated and untreated for hyperthyroidism

We aimed to compare the prevalence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) and its subgroups between on-treatment (with anti-thyroid drugs; propylthiouracil, methimazole) and untreated patients with hyperthyroidism in our unit. Overall 78 consecutive patients were enrolled in the study; 45 patients were on-treatment (female/male 31: 14) and 33 were newly diagnosed (female/male 20: 13). We have studied ANCA, perinuclear-ANCA (p-ANCA), cytoplasmic-ANCA (c-ANCA), myeloperoxidase-ANCA (mpo-ANCA), and proteinase 3-ANCA (pr3-ANCA) in sera of all the patients. The data about clinical status, laboratory tests, and physical examination and mean duration of treatment in treated group were recorded. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups for ANCA, c-ANCA, and pr3-ANCA (P = 0.13, P = 0.07, and P = 0.63 respectively). p-ANCA and mpo-ANCA prevalences were significantly higher in on-treatment group than in untreated group (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01, respectively). The mean duration of treatment was 17 months in on-treatment group. The use of antithyroid drugs (propylthiouracil, methimazole) seems to be correlated with increased prevalence of ANCA. These drugs may especially increase p-ANCA and mpo-ANCA positivity

Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Frequency in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Background. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a viral disease, common across the world, and associated with several extraintestinal manifestations including vasculitis. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) are sensitive and specific markers for vasculitides. There is limited data available in the literature on whether ANCA formation is stimulated by CHB infection. In the present study we aimed to identify the frequency of ANCA in CHB patients. Methods. A total of 174 subjects were included in the study (87 CHB patients, 87 control subjects). Perinuclear-ANCA (P-ANCA), cytoplasmic-ANCA (C-ANCA), myeloperoxidase ANCA (MPO-ANCA), and proteinase 3-ANCA (PR3-ANCA) were studied. IFA was used for P-ANCA and C-ANCA assays, and ELISA was used for MPO-ANCA and PR3-ANCA assays. Results. ANCA positivity was high in both groups (31% in the CHB group and 26% among controls). There were no significant differences between the groups for P-ANCA and MPO-ANCA (P = 0.6 and P = 0.6, resp.). Frequency of borderline positive C-ANCA and all positive PR3-ANCA (positive + borderline positive) was significantly higher in the CHB group (P = 0.009 and P = 0.005, resp.). Conclusions. In the present study, the frequency of ANCA was high in both groups. The CHB group had a relatively higher frequency of ANCA positivity compared to controls. Borderline positive C-ANCA and positive PR3-ANCA were significantly higher in the CHB group. These results suggest that ANCA may have a high prevalence in Turkey. Patients with CHB should be evaluated particularly for C-ANCA and PR3-ANCA in the presence of vasculitic complaints and lesions