is autoimmune cholangitis an early stage of primary biliary cirrhosis?
Autoimmune cholangitis (AIC) has been proposed as a distinct disease entity from primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), without antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) and anti-M2 antibody but with a high titer of antinuclear antibody (ANA) in the serum. However, negativity for AMA and anti-M2 antibody was determined by different methods in different studies. We hypothesized that anti-M2 antibody negativity in AIC resulted from methodological differences, including selection of the immunoglobulin subclass of the autoantibody. Twenty-three patients compatible with AIC whose serum tested negative for AMA and positive for ANA (> or = 1:80) were compared with 71 AMA-positive PBC patients. Laboratory findings, histology, and the pattern of anti-M2 antibody assessed by immunoblotting were compared. Alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, and IgM values were lower in patients with AIC (P < 0.05, 0.01, respectively). Anti-smooth muscle antibody was detected more frequently in patients wit
Related Questions
- is there an optimal therapeutic regimen for antimitochondrial antibody-negative primary biliary cirrhosis (autoimmune cholangitis)?
- Does the diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis or autoimmune cholangitis depend on the phase of the disease?
- is autoimmune cholangitis an early stage of primary biliary cirrhosis?
