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Detecting multiple autoantibodies to diagnose autoimmune co-morbidity (multiple autoimmune syndromes and overlap syndromes): a challenge for the autoimmunologist

  • Diagnosis of Autoimmunity
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Abstract

In the last 15 years, the estimated prevalence of autoimmune diseases increased from about 4 to 9.4 %. Autoimmune co-morbidity (i.e., the association between two or more autoimmune diseases in the same patient) is present in 0.4–0.5 % of the worldwide population, more frequently in patients with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and vitiligo. The most common associations between autoimmune diseases define two clusters: the multiple autoimmune syndromes and overlap syndromes. This review highlights the importance of multiple antibody assays in the diagnosis of multiple autoimmune and overlap syndromes and summarizes the general conditions of autoantibody detection using the model of the five W’s: why, who, what, when and where. These conditions represent a new challenge for clinical and laboratory autoimmunologists, who, in a multidisciplinary arena, cooperate in investigating and treating multiple autoimmune disorders.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, S. Maria degli Angeli Hospital, Pordenone, Italy

    Renato Tozzoli

  2. Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, Mediterranean Institute for Transplants and High Specialty Therapies, Palermo, Italy

    Maria Concetta Sorrentino

  3. Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, San Antonio Hospital, via Morgagni, 18, 33028, Tolmezzo, UD, Italy

    Nicola Bizzaro

Authors
  1. Renato Tozzoli
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  2. Maria Concetta Sorrentino
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  3. Nicola Bizzaro
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Correspondence to Nicola Bizzaro.

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Tozzoli, R., Sorrentino, M.C. & Bizzaro, N. Detecting multiple autoantibodies to diagnose autoimmune co-morbidity (multiple autoimmune syndromes and overlap syndromes): a challenge for the autoimmunologist. Immunol Res 56, 425–431 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-013-8418-7

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