title: Seronegative autoimmune diseases.
abstract: A close relationship exists between autoimmunity and autoantibodies; despite this, some patients are persistently negative for disease-specific autoantibodies. These conditions have been defined as seronegative autoimmune diseases. Although the prevalence of seronegative autoimmune diseases is low, they may represent a practical problem because they are often difficult cases. There are also situations in which autoantibodies are positive in healthy subjects. In particular, three different conditions can be described: latent autoimmunity, preclinical autoimmunity, and postclinical autoimmunity. Here, we analyze briefly the meaning of autoantibody negativity in the seronegative autoimmune diseases, focusing in particular on the specificities associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Clinica e Terapia Medica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alessandri
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Conigliaro
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valesini
mesh_terms: D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies