title: Serum antinuclear antibody in adult Thais.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the presence of antinuclear antibody (ANA) in older Thais compared with middle-age and younger participants.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Antinuclear antibody represents the first step in the diagnostic testing for lupus erythematosus (LE) and other autoimmune diseases. Due to the lack of reference ANA levels in older, middle-age and younger Thais healthy participants, this study will be useful for determining the proper diagnostic and treatment criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  There were 28 older (60-76 years), 17 middle-age (41-59 years) and 13 younger (24-40 years) participants in this study. Immunofluorescence was performed to analyse the ANA staining pattern and titre levels in the participants' blood samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The presence of serum ANA was found in 18 of 28 cases (64.3%), four of 17 (23.5%) and one of 13 cases (7.7%) of the older, middle-age and younger participants, respectively. The difference in the number of serum ANA-positive participants between the older, middle-age and younger groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Interestingly, the ANA positive in older participants presented more than one staining pattern. The speckled pattern was the most commonly detected ANA staining pattern in the older group, being found in 12 cases followed by cytoplasmic pattern (10 cases), homogeneous pattern (nine cases) and nucleolar pattern (five cases). In the middle-age group, the speckled pattern was found in four cases, whereas one younger participant presented a nucleolar pattern.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum ANA positive was significantly higher in the older group compared with the middle-age and younger groups. There were variations of the serum ANA staining patterns in the older group.
authors.affiliation: Oral Medicine Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Chanwit
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prapinjumrune
authors.affiliation: Oral Medicine Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Chalakorn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prucktrakul
authors.affiliation: Dental Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Trakarn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sooktonglarng
authors.affiliation: Oral Medicine Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Kobkan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thongprasom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013785:Thailand; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear
keywords: Thais.; adults; antinuclear antibody; older