Antinuclear antibodies as early diagnostic criteria of developing collagen disease in quartz dust exposure--a case report
Mehlhorn, J.; Conrad, K.; Frank, K.H.; Ziegler, H.; Harzbecker, K.; Ullmann, L.; Lüthke, K.
Zeitschrift für die Gesamte Innere Medizin und ihre Grenzgebiete 45(3): 68-71
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0044-2542 PMID: 2159677 Document Number: 348638
One and a half years antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) against Scl-70 and U1-RNP were found in the serum of a quartz dust exposed worker before the clinical manifestation of the progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS). Only a discrete lung fibrosis and an enlargement of the heart was seen at the time of the first autoantibody detection. Because workers with an intensive and long-lasting quartz dust exposition take a high risk to develop PSS a sensitive ANA-screening is indicated at minimum suspicion of chronic collagen disease. The detection of a high ANA-titer in a clinical healthy person may give a hint for the possible future development of such a disease and requires the observation of the clinical course and the paraclinical and immunological parameters. A lung fibrosis and/or an enlargement of the heart in X-ray photographs would indicate visceral early manifestations of the PSS before skin symptoms appear.