Medicine
-
Anti-Ku antibodies have been reported in a wide spectrum of autoimmune diseases, sometimes in association with inflammatory myopathies (IM). We studied the clinical, laboratory, and muscle histologic features of all anti-Ku-positive patients detected in our hospital during the last 10 years, as well as their treatment and outcomes. Anti-Ku antibodies were found in 34 patients (0.46% of 20,600 sera positive for antinuclear antibodies), and complete data were available for 30 patients; 86.7% were female, mean age was 49 years (range, 20-73 yr). ⋯ Complete muscle remission after steroids occurred in 73% of patients with IM. Lung disease was corticoresistant in 6 of 8 (75%) treated cases. Anti-Ku antibodies remain rarely detected, but their presence can be frequently associated with corticosensitive IM and severe, corticoresistant ILD.