Specificity of Anti-SSB as a Diagnostic Marker for the Classification of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
April 2013
in “
Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine
”
Studysummary This study found that anti-Sjögren's syndrome type B antibodies are highly specific for diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus and are associated with several clinical symptoms, including cheek erythema and alopecia. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study investigated the diagnostic value of anti-SSB antibodies in 74 SLE patients, finding them in 25.7% of SLE cases and 3.3% of controls, with a specificity of 96.7%. Anti-SSB-positive SLE patients exhibited higher rates of cheek erythema, alopecia, serositis, secondary Sjögren’s syndrome, leukocytopenia, elevated IgG, and anti-SSA60 or anti-SSA52 antibodies. The study concluded that anti-SSB antibodies are significant for diagnosing SLE and are linked to specific clinical features, recommending further molecular studies to confirm these results.
