Several autoimmune diseases may occur in the same patient. Celiac disease (CD) is found in patients with diabetes mellitus type-1 and thyroiditis. Few studies have addressed the association between CD and rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
To study the prevalence of anti-endomysial antibodies in RA patients.
The presence of IgA anti-endomysial antibodies (EmA-IgA) was evaluated in 85 RA patients and 97 healthy controls through indirect immunoflourescence using human umbilical cord as substrate.
None of the RA patients or healthy controls was positive for EmA-IgA.
We could not find an association between RA and anti-endomysial antibodies in the studied population.