Anticardiolipin antibodies in inclusion body myositis and the other inflammatory myopathies

In an attempt to address a possible immunologic mechanism in the inflammatory myopathies, we studied sera from patients with a variety of neuromuscular disorders [N = 55] for the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies [ACA] by use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay [ELISA]. High titres of ACA [IgG] were detected in two of five [40%] patients with inclusion body myositis [IBM]. The findings of ACA in IBM, but not in other neuromuscular disorders including other inflammatory myopathies, suggest a possible role for ACA in the pathogenesis of this disorder