TY - JOUR T1 - Limitations of Antinuclear Antibody Tests (HEp-2) Are Overcome with the Autoimmune Target Test (IT-1) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1833 LP - 1834 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.090118 VL - 36 IS - 8 AU - LA-HE JEARN AU - DUCK-AN KIM AU - THINK-YOU KIM Y1 - 2009/08/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/36/8/1833.3.abstract N2 - To the Editor:Controversy concerning the antinuclear antibody (ANA)-positive rates in patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) has persisted, and many efforts in improving the test quality have been made. After reading the article “Abnormal ANA titers are less common than generally assumed in established cases of SLE” by Sjöwall, et al1, we would like to express our opinion. In this article, the 95th percentile titer (women 1:200, men 1:80) of healthy blood donors was chosen as the standard in determining the cutoff titer for the ANA test in patients with SLE. As a result, the article reported a fluorescent ANA-positive rate in patients with established SLE as 76%, and it focused on its result of a lower positive rate. However, this finding may result in misunderstanding, by leading investigators to accept a much lower ANA-positive rate than what had been previously reported. Further, it has a potential threat in questioning the basic pathogenesis of SLE, which is destined to … Address reprint requests to Prof. T.Y. Kim; E-mail: tykim{at}hanyang.ac.kr ER -