Anticardiolipin and anti beta 2 glycoprotein 1 in Omani patients with anti phospholipid syndrome

Anti-cardiolipin [ACA] and anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I [beta 2GP1] antibodies are thought to be involved in the development of arterial or venous thrombosis, thrombocytopenia and recurrent fetal loss. We examined the presence of these autoantibodies in Omani patients with autoimmune and non-autoimmune disorders. Sera from 30 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE; 30], 44 with a history of recurrent abortion and 36 with thrombosis/thromboytopeania were tested for ACA and anti-beta 2GP1 antibodies. In addition, sera from 30 healthy subjects were also tested for these antibodies. ACA were detected in 23% with SLE, 27% suffering from recurrent abortion and 36% of patients with thrombosis/thrombocytopenia while anti-beta 2GP1 antibodies were detected in 16.6%, 18% and 22% of same patients, respectively. Our data demonstrate a high prevalence of ACA and anti-beta 2GP1 antibodies of either combined or separate pattern among the Omani patient groups studied

Glutamic acid decarboxylase [GAD65] and thyroid autoantibodies in Omani patients with type 2 diabetes

Autoimmunity is a common feature in type 1 diabetes mellitus [DM]. Little is known of the role of autoimmunity in type 2 diabetes. Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase [GAD65] and thyroid antigens have been reported with various frequencies in diabetic patients. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and association of antibodies to GAD65, anti-thyroglobulin [A-TG-A], anti-thyroid microsomal [ATMA] antibodies, haemoglobin A[1c] [HbA[1c]] and fasting serum C-peptide in Omani patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We studied 100 Omani patients with type 2 diabetes for the presence of serum antibodies to GAD65, A-TG-A and ATMA by the use of commercially available kits. Results were compared with those from fifty patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus [DM] and fifty unaffected individuals who were used as controls. Results showed that type 2 DM had significantly high positivity levels [24%] of anti-GAD65 antibodies than the control group [4% - p < 0.05] though less than that found in type 1 DM [38%]. GAD65 antibodies were more commonly found in older females [> 40 years] with type 2 diabetes [p < 0.05]. A higher prevalence of ATMA was noted in both type 2 and type 1 diabetes [20 and 26% respectively] compared to the levels in the control group [8%]. There was a low prevalence and little difference in A-TG-A values among the three groups studied [9%, 14% and 4%]. Both A-TG-A and ATMA were more often expressed in older females with type 2 diabetes. HbA[1c] did not differ between groups with the duration of disease less or more than three years. When the same groups were tested for fasting serum C-pepticle, those with disease of more than three years duration had significantly higher prevalence [p < 0.05] as compared to those less than three years. This study confirms the presence and association of thyroid and GAD65 antibodies in some Omani patients with clinical diagnosis of type 2 DM

Anti-thyroglobulin and anti-thyroid microsomal antibodies in thyroid disorders

High titers of antibodies to thyroglobulin [ATA] and thyroid microsomal antigen [ATMA] are the hallmarks of human autoimmune thyroid diseases. The clinical significance of these autoantibodies in other thyroid disorders is still unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and titres of these antibodies in Omani patients [mean age 32, range 5-81 years] with different thyroid disorders. This was done in order to investigate any correlation regarding clinical manifestations that may be unique to patients attending Sultan Qaboos University Hospital [SQUH]. Serum levels of ATA and ATMA in 400 cases involving four groups of thyroid disorders [one hundred each with Hashimoto's disease, Graves' disease, thyroid cancer and goitre] and 100 cases of non-thyroid disorders were studied. The antibodies were tested using a commercial haemagglutination assay [Thymune-T and Thymune-M]. The overall prevalence of ATA or ATMA antibodies with thyroid disease was 47% and in non-thyroid disorders was 8%. The ATA was positive in 27% of all the patients with thyroid disorders compared to only 4% of those in the non-thyroid groups while ATMA was positive in 42% and 8% respectively. Among all patients, ATA and ATMA were positive in 64% of patients with Graves's disease, 81% in those with Hashimoto's, 30% of goiter patients, and 20% of those with thyroid carcinoma. The prevalence according to the age within each group for the three ranges: less than 20 years, between 20-40 years and over 40 years, showed the following results: within Graves were 12, 49 and 39% respectively; in the goitre group: 23, 55 and 22%; in the Hashimotos' group: 18, 54 and 28% and 7, 56 and 37% among the patients with thyroid carcinoma. The female to male ratio prevalence was 68% and 32% in Graves disease, 92% and 8% in Hashimotos', 75% and 25% in thyroid cancer and 88% and 12% in goiter. This study confirms the prevalence of a high level of thyroid autoantibodies in these Omani patients as in Caucasians, and its correlation to age and gender. It also indicated the importance of screening for ATA and ATMA in non-autoimmune thyroid disorders. Their significance in thyroid cancers needs further elucidation