CLINICAL-FEATURES AND SERUM ANTINUCLEAR ANTIBODIES IN 230 DANISH PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC-SCLEROSIS

The objective was to investigate the relationship between the presence of different types of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in patients with s ystemic sclerosis (SSc) and the presence of clinical features. Sera fr om 230 patients with SSc were tested for the presence of ANA, includin g anticentromere antibodies (ab), antitopoisomerase I ab, anti-U1 RNP ab and antinucleolar ab, including anti-Th RNP, anti-U3 RNP and anti-U 17 RNP. Clinical features were registered prospectively in a clinical database. Eighty-two per cent of the patients were women. The median a ge was 58 yr (45-67, quartiles) and median age al disease onset was 44 (30-55) yr. ANA were found in 86% of the patients (anticentromere: 34 %; antitopoisomerase I: 14%; anti-U1 RNP: 6.5%; antinucleolar total: 1 6%; anti-Th RNP: 2.2%; anti-U3 RNP: 3.5%; anti-U17 RNP: 0%). Anticentr omere ab were found to be related to a high prevalence of calcinosis, telangiectasia, digital ulcers, acrosclerosis, primary biliary cirrhos is, isolated reduction of pulmonary diffusing capacity, and a low prev alence of radiological evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. Antitopoisomera se I ab were associated with a high prevalence of digital joint deform ity, distal osteolysis, radiological signs of pulmonary fibrosis, a lo w prevalence of calcinosis and late onset of disease. Anti-U1 RNP ab w ere related to a high prevalence of arthritis and myositis a low preva lence of calcinosis, and early disease onset. The presence of antinucl eolar ab, including anti-U3 RNP and anti-Th RNP, was not significantly related to any particular clinical features in this study; possibly d ue to the small number of patients with these ab. The presence of anti centromere, antitopoisomerase I and anti-U1 RNP ab in the serum was al so found to have previously described clinical correlations in a group of Danish SSc patients.