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Connective Tissue Disease

Connective tissue disease (CTD) is a common autoimmune disease. The connective tissues are structural portions of the body such as collagen and elastin which are essential to provide a framework or matrix for the body.  In patients with CTD, it is common for collagen and elastin to become injured by inflammation. We have a CTD service which tests for systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthiritis, scleroderma, polymyositis and dermatomyositis amongst many others. The CTD service provides the following test panel to aid in diagnosis:

Tests available are: Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA), Complement C3 and C4 (C34), Extractable Nuclear Antigen (ENA) and double stranded Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) antibody.

Judicious use of these tests in conjunction with clinical history and examination can help in the diagnosis and monitoring of CTD.

ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) and dsDNA (double stranded DNA) test

Test:	ANA and DNA
Laboratory	Immunology Laboratory
Specimen Type:	Serum
Storage:	If samples have to be stored prior to dispatch, please keep at 4°C
Posting Details:	Room temperature
Posting Address:	Department of Immunology, City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham, B18 7QH
Clinical Use:	To aid in the diagnosis of connective tissue and related autoimmune diseases
Advantages:	Much more sensitive assay, useful for positive screen confirmation
Turnaround:	Approximately 24 hours for the screen; approximately 48 hours for positive screen confirmation
External QA Scheme:	UK NEQAS nuclear and related antigens
CPA Accredited Lab/Test:	Yes Full accreditation
Key Contact:	Shabir Rajpar info@cityassays.org.uk Tel: 0121 507 4258
Clinical Lead for this assay:	Dr Sadia Noorani Tel: 0121 507 5157

©SWBH NHS Trust 2018