ORGENTEC Autoimmunity Blog

Covering Autoimmune Diseases

Articles

What we have already posted on this blog – here you will find an overview of the articles on ORGENTEC’s Autoimmunity Blog, in chronological order:

Findings of autoantibodies in COVID-19 patients 

– published on 24/02/2021

Dysregulation of the immune system and autoimmune processes play a key role in severe and long-term course of COVID-19 infections. Research has shown that autoantibodies against phospholipids, anti-cardiolipin and anti-beta-2-glycoprotein, may contribute significantly to COVID-19 related autoimmunity and disease severity. Understanding how these antibodies trigger the thrombotic manifestations of the disease is important to improve patient management and to understand the underlying pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection

2020 Update of the Guidelines for diagnosing Coeliac disease published by the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

– published on 06/07/2020

In 2012 the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) has issued diagnostic guidelines for coeliac disease (CD) that should support physicians in accurately diagnosing CD without performing duodenal biopsies in selected patients. These guidelines have now been updated, new clinical evidence for this approach has been implemented and the non-biopsy approach has been evaluated also in asymptomatic children.

ACR and EULAR Approved Classification Criteria for Primary Sjoegren’s Syndrome

– published on 22/12/2016

The International Sjoegren’s Syndrome Criteria Working Group refined the existing classification criteria for primary Sjoegren’s Syndrome, and developed a data set, which performed well in validation analyses and are well-suited as criteria for enrollment of patients in clinical trials.

Future perspectives for diagnostics of ANCA associated vasculitis

– published on 26/08/2016

May ELISA tests replace indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected ANCA-associated vasculitis? The answer is clearla yes, according to a recently published results of the European Vasculitis Study Group.

Cutting-edge research for biomarker discovery in rheumatoid arthritis

– published on 27/06/2016

We present achievments in biomarker discovery for early diagnosis and prevention of rheumatoid arthritis. Read about the results of the ambitious research project EuroTeam Arthritis.

Biomarkers for disease activity in Crohn’s disease

– published on 01/12/2015

• Levels of fecal calprotectin are significantly correlated with the severity of postoperative endoscopic recurrence.
• The optimal cutoff for fecal Calprotectin is 100 μg/g in the postoperative period with a negative predictive value of 91-93 %.
• 30-47 % of colonoscopies may be replaced by non-invasive measurement of fecal calprotectin to identify disease relapse after surgery

Rheumatoid Factor revisited: An “old” test but still up to date

– published on 15/04/2015

More than 70 years after its invention RF is still regarded as a valuable diagnostic marker for RA. Researchers are now addressing the challenging question whether RF and other autoantibodies in RA are only an epiphenomenon or real pathophysiological effectors that may interact synergistically to drive disease development.

The 2012 revised SLICC criteria for classification of systemic lupus erythematosus

– published on 14/07/2014

The SLICC group is an international group of investigators dedicated to clinical research on SLE. With the intention to improve the clinical relevance of the 1982/1997 ACR criteria for classification of SLE, they revised the existing criteria and performed the so far missing validation.  According to the SLICC experts, the 2012 SLICC criteria showed high sensitivity and specificity, with fewer misqualifications compared to the 1982/1997 criteria.

Rheumatic disease and pregnancy

published on 20/12/2013

Diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus have far-reaching consequences for the future plans of affected women: In about one fifth of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the disease is diagnosed before a first pregnancy. Most women with systemic lupus erythematosus obtain a diagnosis before their 30th birthday. Many then choose not to have children at all because the risks related to the disease and its treatment seem too great. More than one half of women with RA or SLE have fewer children than they originally wanted. Several aspects of rheumatic disease in pregnancy are summarized in this post.

Calprotectin for discrimination of functional and organic bowel disease

published on 31/10/2013

Several studies have documented that testing for calprotectin in stool samples of patients with lower bowel symptoms may help to avoid unnecessary invasive diagnostic tests in people with irritable bowel syndrome and contribute to faster identification of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease who need intensive specialist care. These findings have led to the development of a new guideline on fecal calprotectin diagnostic tests for inflammatory diseases of the bowel, issued by the british National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence (NICE) in October 2013. In this blog post you will find a summary of the Nice guidance.

Portrait of the HEp2 cell, the pet of immunofluorescence professionals

– published on 28/03/2013

Antibody detection on HEp-2 cells is maintaining a central role in autoimmune disease diagnostics: The HEp-2 test often is the recommended first line screening method: A broad spectrum of antibodies  can be analysed simultaneously with high sensitivity. Moreover, characteristic fluorescence patterns provide additional information beyond mere detection of antibodies.

Immunofluorescence Tests in Crescentic Glomerulonephritis

– published on 30/10/2012

In a recent posting  Austrian immunofluorescecnce expert Barbara Fabian, community manager of GRÜNER CLUB AUTOIMMUN, refered to the relationship  between the formation of  autoantibodies against glomerular basal membrane (GBM) and ANCA (antibodies against cytoplasmic antigens of neutrophil granulocytes). A specialist article for immunofluorescence enthusiasts.

Ankylosing Spondylitis: Biomarkers May Predict Diseases Progression

– published on 27/06/2012
The German study described in this article deals with key inter-group differences between different types of patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis. In the future awareness of such differences will help physicians to stratify patients due to disease risk. The results may pave the way for developing specific treatment options for AS.

 

Research Update: Osteoimmunology

– published on 15/06/2012
The synopsis of the research of U. Harre, G. Schett and coworkers. Their research described in this blog article provides fundamental new insights into the interaction between bone and the immune system in the inflammatory process leading to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. A must-read for those interested in RA research.

 

Research Update: New Classification Criteria for Sjögren’s Disease are Out

– published on 06/06/2012
An international team of rheumatologists has published new classification criteria for Sjögren’s syndrome. These “new 2012 classification criteria for Sjögren’s syndrome” are the first to be based solely on objective clinical tests. In this blog post you will find a summary on the new Sjögren’s criteria.

 

Heart Disease Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Common Assessment Tools are Insufficient

– published on 24/05/2012
Obviously, common standard heart disease risk tools underrate danger in case of rheumatoid arthritis. In this blog article the findings of a Mayo Clinic study is summarised.

 

Research Update: Atherosclerosis and Autoimmunity

– published on 11/04/2012
Clinical researchers have uncovered a mechanism which establishes a causal link between atherosclerosis and autoimmune diseases: The long Arm of the Dendritic Cells.

 

Celiac Disease Diagnostics Revised: New Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Celiac Disease

– published on 23/03/2012
The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) has published New Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Celiac Disease. In this post you will find a summary.

 

Liver Disease Diagnostics: Antibody-Based Diagnosis of Autoimmune Liver Disease

– published on 13/02/2012
A swystematic overview on diagnosing liver diseases serologically. Posted on the occasion of the product launch of serveral test systems for liver diagnostics.

 

Mobile Health Applications: Their Significance for Medical Education and Healthcare

– published on 07/12/2011
Mobile medical apps are tools that complement what people ar patients are doing offline. A good healthcare app is always driven by and infused with science, and it provides targeted information to the patient and/or the consumer.

 

Welcome to the ACPA Club!

– published on 09/11/2011
A posting about our new Anti-CCP hs (high sensitive) ELISA for serological diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Posted on the occasion of the assay’s product launch at the Medica 2011 trade fair in that month.

 

A Short History of Immunofluorescence Technology

– published on 28/09/2011
A translation of Barbara Fabian’s “historical” posting on the development of indirect immunofluorescence technology, or short: IIF. Shows fine pictures of IIF patterns.

 

Why Are Autoimmune Diseases More Common in Women than Men?

– published on 21/08/2011
Not easy to answer. But this short article will give you at least a partial explanation of that phenomenon.  Several further Internet links will lead to scientific articles.

 

IL-22 as a Prognostic Biomarker: Predictability of Disease Progression for Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 15/08/2011
Interleukin 22 may make it possible to make a prognosis regarding the progression of the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  Is that right? – This article summarizes the study which introduces IL-22 as a prognostic biomarker for RA. A research update worth reading!

 

Predicting Arthritis Outcome: Anti-MCV for Monitoring Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 22/06/2011
“Antibodies to modified citrullinated vimentin are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in early rheumatoid arthritis”, a study says. This posting summarizes the key facts of that article published in the Journal of Rheumaotology. A research update for you!

 

Research Update: Prognosis of Outcomes for Rheumatoid Arthritis – What are the Risk Factors?

– published on 06/05/2011
Prognosis of outcomes for rheumatoid arthritis – what are the risk factors? – A research update on the Autoimmunity Blog, and many links to recommended literature.

 

Rheumatology Diagnostics: Indirect Immunofluorescence Tests (IIF assays) on HEp-2 Cells

– published on 31/03/2011
Immunofluorescence patterns help to eliminate “false positives” in diagnosing autoimmune rheumatic diseases – a case for proper interpretation of ANA-HEp-2 patterns and a case for indirect immunofluorescence technology in autoimmune diagnostics. Many pictures of ANA-HEp-2 IIF patterns – and a reading tip!

 

Found last Week on the Internet

– published on 28/03/2011
Articles on autoimmunitiy, autoimmune disorders, and autoimmune disease diagnostics found on the Internet.

 

Diagnostic Value of Antibodies against Mutated Citrullinated Vimentin in Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 24/03/2011
According to a recently published study anti-MCV could be a better test for diagnosing RA than anti-CCP2. – That’s right. You can read it in this posting. And in the articles, this posting is linking to.

 

Autoantibodies precede manifestation of Lupus by years

– published on 25/02/2011
Antibodies to various autoantigens may be present in sera of patients who will develop Lupus erythematosus up to seven years before onset of disease symptoms – this blog post summarizes the comprehensive study by a group of Swedish scientists.

 

Anti-MCV Antibodies: our ACPA Test for Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 07/02/2011
This article presents the so called ACPA as new and highly promising biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis. And it lists a number of interesting references worth reading, quite a number of which can be downloades free of charge.

 

Our Point-of-Care-Test rheumachec for Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 21/01/2010
Our Point-of-Care-Test rheumachec for Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis has become a “Highly Accessed Research Article” in Arthritis Research & Therapy. A cause to write this blog article.

 

Research Update: Common Adult Vaccinations do not Increase the Risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 15/11/2011
“Common adult immunizations are not associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis” is the result of the EIRA Study detailed in this posting.

 

Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis: Newly Discovered Gene Indicates Risk!

– published on 28/10/2011
This blog post is about the genetic basis of psoriasis, described in an Nature Genetics article.

 

B-Cells in Autoimmunity

– published on 20/10/2010
B cells play an important role in the development of autoimmunity. There is a link between B cell receptor expression and autoantibody production in rheumatoid arthritis, this article on the ORGENTEC Autoimmunity Blog details.

 

Biomarkers – The Key to Prevention and Early Detection of Disease

– published on 28/09/2010
Are bio markers the key to prevention and early detection of diseases? The author of this article is positive of that and says “Yes”.  And he gives good examples to substantiate his position.

 

Rheumatism Affects more than just the Joints!

– published on 18/09/2011
Rheumatism affects more than just the joints: the heart and circulatory system are also at risk. Early diagnosis and treatment on time is crucial!

 

The 2010 ACR – EULAR Rheumatoid Arthritis Classification Criteria in brief

– published on 06/09/2010
A blog post on the “new” ACR criteria for RA classification. A lot of reading tips, many of the recommended articles can be downloades free of charge. – This article is amongst the Top 5 Articles of ORGENTEC’s Autoimmuntiy Blog!

 

New Criteria for the Classification of Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 24/08/2010
The “new” ACR/EULAR 2010 Classification Criteria for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and what the recommendations are all about.

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Facts and Figures about RA

– published on 21/07/2010
Some facts and figures about rheumatoid arthritis – and quite a few weblinks in this blog post.

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Is the Incidence of this Autoimmune Disease Rising?

– published on 05/07/2010
Yes, it is. Why rheumatoid arthritis is on the rise is detailed in this posting on ORGENTEC’s Autoimmunity Blog.

 

DMARDs: Practical Recommendations for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

– published on 18/06/2010
A cure for rheumatoid arthritis is not yet possible, that’s fact. However, remission is within one’s reach today. Rheumatologists give recommendations on the RA management with DMARDs, disease modifying antirheumatic drugs.

 

Osteoimmunology: Bones and the Immune System – How they Communicate With Each Other

– published on 02/06/2010
What is Osteoimmunology all about? And how do bones and the immune system communicate?

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Smoking and Rheumatism

– published on 21/05/2010
There is a connection between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and smoking, studies say. But what are the reasons? And are there novel drugs for rheumatoid arthritis on the horizon?

 

10 Clinical Facts about Rheumatoid Arthritis

– published on 03/05/2010
There has been a paradigm change in the field of rheumatology. Nowadays, remission becomes obvious in innovative agents and novel treatment strategies. 10 facts given in this article helps in the clinical understanding of rheumatoid arthritis.

 

Blood Tests for the Diagnosis of Lupus

– published on 21/042010
This blog post is the undisputed fovourite of our readers: 3,000 clicks in not even two years – thanks a lot! – What this article is all about? Well, it’s about … blood tests for diagnosis of lupus.

 

Research Update: Genetics of Rheumatoid Arthritis Susceptibility

– published on 07/04/2010
A group of Spanish investigators around has published a study about the influence of HLA DRB1 genes on the development of rheumatoid arthritis and the production of disease-specific autoantibodies.

 

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA): Genes and Environment

– published on 27/03/2010
How do genes contribute to onset of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or short: JIA? And what about the environment in the onset of this autoimmune disease?

 

Research Update: Hashimoto Thyroiditis, APS and Lupus

– published on 22/03/2010
It has been known for some time that Hashimoto disease can occur together with other autoimmune diseases. Are lupus and APS are an indicator of increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease? – A research update.

 

Research Update about ACPAs

– published on 11/03/2010
Antibodies against mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) and cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) in the serum of RA patients act as highly specific indicators of rheumatoid arthritis. Are these RA-specific ACPAs formed directly within inflamed joints? – A research update.

 

There’s something to Celebrate!

– published 02/03/2010
It’s great when there’s something to celebrate! Last week we had such an occasion: the publication of an article on the ORGENTEC Anti-PR3 hs (high sensitive) ELISA in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

 

Here We Go!

– published on 27/02/2010
The first blog post ever on ORGENTEC’s Autoimmunity Blog! Hard to believe what has become of it!



1 Comment

Add a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Autoimmunity Blog © 2020