title: Organ-specific antibodies in patients with lichen sclerosus.
abstract: Organ-specific antibodies were looked for in 26 patients with lichen sclerosus. Ten of the 25 female patients (40%) had organ-specific antibodies to thyroid cytoplasm and 11 (44%) had organ-specific antibodies to gastric parietal cells. Both values were significantly greater than those obtained in age-matched controls. None of the sera from patients with lichen sclerosus contained antibodies to steroid-producing tissues. No organ-specific antibodies were found in the one male patient.The findings suggest that lichen sclerosus may be related to an autoimmune process.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007437:Intrinsic Factor; D008011:Lichens; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012606:Scotland; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007437:Intrinsic Factor; D014805:Vitamin B 12