Resumo

HERES ALVAREZ, Flor de la C. et al. Autoimmunity, antinuclear antibodies, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis. Rev cubana med [online]. 2005, vol.44, n.1-2. ISSN 0034-7523.

It has been suggested that autoimmunity plays a role in atherosclerosis. The aim of this paper was to determine wether a systemic autoimmune response, characterized by the presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF) and alterations of serum immunglobulins (Igs), is associated with coronary atherosclerosis. The serum of 2 groups of patients was studied; 41 subjects with at least 50 % of stenosis in the 3 main coronary arteries (SCA) and 26 subjects with no evidence of coronary injuries (NECI) determined by coronary angiography. The antinuclear antibodies were determined by immunofluorescence in cryostatic sections of rat liver; the rheumatic factor by fixation in latex and the quantification of IgG, IgA and IgM by immunoturbidimetry. It was found that the frequency of autoantibodies detected in the SCA group proved to be similar to that of the NECAI group (ANA: 17 % vs. 15 %, p = 0,856; RF: 7 % vs. 4 %, p = 0,559). It was shown that the differences of the mean values of serum immunoglobulins between both groups of patients were not statistically significant (IgG: 12,4 g/L vs. 13,0 g/L; IgA: 3,6 g/L vs. 3,6 g/L; IgM: 1,2 g/L vs. 1,4 g/L; p = 0,328, p=0,946,p= 0.157, respectively). According to the results, it was concluded that the presence of ANA, RF and abnormal concentrations of serum Igs were not useful to identify individuals with advanced atherosclerosis.

Palavras-chave : Autoimmunity; antinuclear antibodies; coronary heart disease; atherosclerosis.

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