Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases and Its Challenges in Diagnosis.

Abstract

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) are the outcome of a malfunctioning immune system in which the immune system attacks self-antigens. These diseases are grouped into organ-specific and non-organ-specific types. Autoantibodies are important biomarkers used for confirming the diagnosis of ADs. Disease-specific autoantibodies are detected at a very early stage when typical clinical symptoms are not present in the patient, allowing prediction of the disease several years before the symptoms are visible. Diagnosis at an early stage is essential to decrease morbidity, disability, and mortality caused by ADs. Detection of autoantibodies, specific to particular phenotypes, helps to define these disorders as well as facilitate diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring. In this review, we outline the present technologies used in autoimmune laboratories and the limitations of these methods along with future perspects of autoimmune diagnostics.