TY - JOUR T1 - Autoantibodies against alpha-fodrin in Sjögren's syndrome with neurological manifestations. JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 500 LP - 503 VL - 31 IS - 3 AU - Jérôme de Seze AU - Sylvain Dubucquoi AU - Anne-Laure Fauchais AU - Eric Hachulla AU - Torsten Matthias AU - Didier Lefranc AU - Pierre-Yves Hatron AU - Patrick Vermersch AU - Torsten Witte Y1 - 2004/03/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/31/3/500.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the diagnostic value of autoantibodies against alpha-fodrin in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) with neurological manifestations compared to SS patients without neurological manifestations, a control group, and patients with other neurological autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with neurological manifestations and multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: We evaluated alpha-fodrin autoantibodies in 31 patients with SS with neurological manifestations, 53 SS patients without neurological symptoms, 38 patients with SLE, 60 with MS, and 160 controls. RESULTS: Twenty of the 31 SS patients with neurological manifestations (64.5%) had an increased concentration of IgA and/or IgG anti-alpha-fodrin. This was not statistically different from that of SS patients without neurological symptoms (73.6%), but was higher than the number with SSA/SSB antibodies, which were found in 15 (48%) of our SS patients without neurological manifestations. When the results of the 2 tests were combined, 28 of the 31 (90.3%) patients had positive autoantibodies (alpha-fodrin and/or SSA/SSB). Alpha-fodrin antibodies were increased in 8 (13.3%) of the 60 patients with MS, in 6 (15.7%) of 38 patients with SLE, and in 10 (6.3%) of 160 controls. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm that alpha-fodrin antibodies are an additional diagnostic tool for SS. This test is of particular interest for patients with SS with neurological manifestations, in whom anti SSA/SSB antibodies are less frequently found. ER -