Histo: Connective tissue disease, amyloid, sarcoid, Immune related multisystem disorders Flashcards
Give an example of an autoimmune disease that is:
- Organ-specific with a specific antigen
- Organ-specific without a specific antigen
- Multisystem disease
- Organ-specific with a specific antigen: Pernicious anaemia
- Organ-specific without a specific antigen: Primary biliary cirrhosis
- Multisystem disease: Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren syndrome, SLE
What are the main features of SLE?
- Serositis (recurrent inflammation of pleura/pericardial sac - recurrent pleuritic chest pain)
- Oral ulcers
- ANA
- Photosensitivity
- Bloods (pancytopenia: MAHA, ITP, leucopenia)
- Renal (proteinuria)
- Arthritis
- Immunological (anti-dsDNA)
- Neurological (psychiatric, seizures)
- Malar rash
- Discoid rash
NOTE: SOAP BRAIN MD
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What units are used for ANA levels?
It is a titre - the highest dilution at which you can see the fluorescence (e.g. 1:1000 is a higher level than 1:10)
List three autoantibodies found in SLE. Which is most specific?
Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA):
* Anti-dsDNA
* Anti-smith (against ribonucleoproteins) - most specific but low sensitivity
* Anti-histone - drug-related (e.g. hydralazine)
Which autoantibody is present and specific to drug-related SLE
anti-histone antibody
Describe the appearance of skin histology in SLE.
- Lymphocytic infiltration of the dermis
- Vacuolisation (dissolution of the cells) of the basal epidermis
- Extravasation of RBCs into upper dermis causes the typical rash seen.
- Immunofluorescence will show immune complex deposition at the epidermis-dermis junction
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Describe the appearance of renal histology in SLE.
Glomerular capillaries are thickened (wire-loop capillaries) due to immune complex deposition.
NOTE: this can be visualised by immunofluorescence
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What is the name of non-infective endocarditis associated with SLE?
Libman-Sacks endocarditis
Patient with SLE can present with endocarditis (e.g. new onset murmur, stroke, embolic event but not grow anything on cultures - the vegetation is made up of lymphocytes, neutrophils, fibrin etc)
What is scleroderma?
A condition characterised by excess collagen in the skin and fibrosis
What are the two types of scleroderma? Name the antibodies that they are associated with.
- Diffuse - involves the trunk (anti-Scl70 antibodies (aka anti-topoisomerase II))
- Limited - only affects distal to the elbows and knees (anti-centromere)
What are the main features of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis?
- Calcinosis (painful deposits of Ca in tips of fingers)
- Raynaud’s phenomenon
- Esophageal dysmotility (difficulty eating)
- Sclerodactyly (tight skin in fingers - hard to stretch)
- Telangiectasia
CREST syndrome
What are the main features of diffuse scleroderma
- Skin changes (tightness) can occur anywhere (including truncal involvement!).
- Tendon friction
- Raynauld’s phenomenon
- Widespread organ involvement: early heart, GI and renal disease. Associated with pulmonary fibrosis.
What pattern of ANA immunofluorescence is seen in scleroderma?
Systemic = Nucleolar
CREST = Centromere pattern
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Describe the skin histology in scleroderma.
Increased depth and amount of collagen.
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Describe the vascular histology in scleroderma.
Tunica Intima proliferation and collagen deposition gives an onion skin appearance.
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