Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
3342474 | Autoimmunity Reviews | 2007 | 4 Pages |
The recent detection of stimulatory autoantibodies as a characteristic feature of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), established the presence of such autoantibodies as a characteristic pathophysiologic finding in a second classical autoimmune disease after autoimmune thyroid disease. This observation raises the possibility of a new paradigm in abnormal autoimmune function, the presence of stimulatory (and suppressive), functional autoantibodies as characteristic features of abnormal autoimmune function. The assumption of such a paradigm opens interesting new research avenues within rheumatology and in other medical specialty areas. Within reproductive medicine, and akin to the concept of hypo- and hyperthyroidism, the possible juxtaposition of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and premature ovarian aging (POA), as opposite abnormalities of adrenal function, under control of autoimmune adrenal antibodies, deserves further investigation.