Comparison of clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters of patients with dermatomyositis-specific autoantibodies and autoantibody-negative patients

Abstract

Myositis is an autoimmune disease characterised by proximal muscle weakness. The aim of the authors was to determine the frequency of dermatomyositis-specific autoantibodies (anti-Mi-2, anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 gamma, anti-nuclear matrix protein 2, anti-small ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme, anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene) in a Hungarian myositis population and to compare the clinical features with the characteristics of patients without myositis-specific antibodies. Antibodies were detected using immunoblot and immunoprecipitation. Of the 330 patients with myositis, 48 patients showed dermatomyositis-specific antibody positivity. The frequency of antibodies in these patients was lower than those published in literature Retrospective analysis of clinical findings and medical history revealed that patients with dermatomyositis-specific autoantibody had more severe muscle weakness and severe skin lesions at the beginning of the disease. Antibodies seem to be useful markers for distinct clinical subsets, for predicting the prognosis of myositis and the effectiveness of the therapy.