Immunology & Rheumatology Flashcards
What are the 3 nonspecific tests to diagnose and assess rheumatic disease?
ESR, CRP, synovial fluid analysis
What are the 5 specific tests to diagnose and assess rheumatic disease?
RF, anti-CCP, ANA, ANCA, Complement
What is an RF?
An immunoglobulin that is abnormally directed against the Fc portion of IgG and does not recognize IgG as “self”
In regards to RF, what will most labs measure?
IgM-anti-IgG
Even though RFs aren’t specific for this disease, what disease is RFs most commonly associated with?
RA
What are some other (4) rheumatic diseases that may cause RFs?
SLE, Scleroderma, MCTD, Sjogren’s syndrome
Patients may be RF positive with no rheumatic disease present. True or false?
True
What is anti-CCP?
an antibody that binds to the nonstandard amino acid citrulline (which is formed from removal of amino groups from arginine)
In patients with RA, what may proteins be transformed to during the process that leads to joint inflammation?
citrulline
Which test is HIGHLY specific for RA?
anti-CCP
The combination of both ____________ and ___________ has 99.5% specificity for RA
positive RF and positive anti-CCP
Which test has a major role in diagnosing lupus?
ANA
What does ANA target?
DNA, RNA, nuclear histones, acidic nuclear proteins
What are the 5 antibody tests are available to look for the presence of ANA?
dsDNA, ssDNA, Sm, RNP, nucleosome
