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Clinical and Developmental Immunology
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 206730, 6 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/206730
Family History of Autoimmune Disease in Patients with Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome
1Department of Neurology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
2Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
3Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, C. Mondino National Institute of Neurology Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
4Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, University of Brescia, Brescia 25123, Italy
Received 17 June 2012; Accepted 1 October 2012
Academic Editor: Timothy B. Niewold
Copyright © 2012 Johanna L. Schmidt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore anecdotal evidence for an increase in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in family members of patients with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). Methods. Pedigrees of patients and controls were analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression to assess differences in reports of autoimmune disease among family members of cases and controls. Data was collected at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA and at the International Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome Association Scientific Headquarters, C. Mondino National Institute of Neurology in Pavia, Italy. Results. The number of individuals with reported autoimmune disease is significantly related to having a family member with AGS (, ); 10% (35/320) of relatives of patients with AGS had a reported autoimmune disease diagnosis compared to 5% (18/344) of relatives of controls. There was a greater percent of maternal relatives of patients with AGS reporting autoimmune disease (14.6%), compared to controls (6.8%), with the association being statistically significant. The association was not significant for paternal relatives. Conclusion. The prevalence of autoimmune disease in relatives of children with AGS is significantly increased compared to controls. More research is needed to better understand this association.