Abstract
Increasing evidence supports a role for the environment in the development of autoimmune diseases, as reviewed in the accompanying three papers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Expert Panel Workshop. An important unresolved issue, however, is the development of criteria for identifying autoimmune disease phenotypes for which the environment plays a causative role, herein referred to as environmentally associated autoimmune diseases. There are several different areas in which such criteria need to be developed, including: 1) identifying the necessary and sufficient data to define environmental risk factors for autoimmune diseases meeting current classification criteria; 2) establishing the existence of and criteria for new environmentally associated autoimmune disorders that do not meet current disease classification criteria; and 3) identifying in clinical practice specific environmental agents that induce autoimmune disease in individual patients. Here we discuss approaches that could be useful for developing criteria in these three areas, as well as factors that should be considered in evaluating the evidence for criteria that can distinguish individuals with such disorders from individuals without such disorders with high sensitivity and specificity. Current studies suggest that multiple lines of complementary evidence will be important and that in many cases there will be clinical, serologic, genetic, epigenetic, and/or other laboratory features that could be incorporated as criteria for environmentally associated autoimmune diseases to improve diagnosis and treatment and possibly allow for preventative strategies in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 253-258 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Autoimmunity |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2012 |
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Keywords
- Autoimmune disease
- Criteria
- Environmental risk factors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology
- Immunology and Allergy
Cite this
Criteria for environmentally associated autoimmune diseases. / Miller, Frederick W.; Pollard, K. Michael; Parks, Christine G.; Germolec, Dori R.; Leung, Patrick S C; Selmi, Carlo; Humble, Michael C.; Rose, Noel R.
In: Journal of Autoimmunity, Vol. 39, No. 4, 12.2012, p. 253-258.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Criteria for environmentally associated autoimmune diseases
AU - Miller, Frederick W.
AU - Pollard, K. Michael
AU - Parks, Christine G.
AU - Germolec, Dori R.
AU - Leung, Patrick S C
AU - Selmi, Carlo
AU - Humble, Michael C.
AU - Rose, Noel R.
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - Increasing evidence supports a role for the environment in the development of autoimmune diseases, as reviewed in the accompanying three papers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Expert Panel Workshop. An important unresolved issue, however, is the development of criteria for identifying autoimmune disease phenotypes for which the environment plays a causative role, herein referred to as environmentally associated autoimmune diseases. There are several different areas in which such criteria need to be developed, including: 1) identifying the necessary and sufficient data to define environmental risk factors for autoimmune diseases meeting current classification criteria; 2) establishing the existence of and criteria for new environmentally associated autoimmune disorders that do not meet current disease classification criteria; and 3) identifying in clinical practice specific environmental agents that induce autoimmune disease in individual patients. Here we discuss approaches that could be useful for developing criteria in these three areas, as well as factors that should be considered in evaluating the evidence for criteria that can distinguish individuals with such disorders from individuals without such disorders with high sensitivity and specificity. Current studies suggest that multiple lines of complementary evidence will be important and that in many cases there will be clinical, serologic, genetic, epigenetic, and/or other laboratory features that could be incorporated as criteria for environmentally associated autoimmune diseases to improve diagnosis and treatment and possibly allow for preventative strategies in the future.
AB - Increasing evidence supports a role for the environment in the development of autoimmune diseases, as reviewed in the accompanying three papers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Expert Panel Workshop. An important unresolved issue, however, is the development of criteria for identifying autoimmune disease phenotypes for which the environment plays a causative role, herein referred to as environmentally associated autoimmune diseases. There are several different areas in which such criteria need to be developed, including: 1) identifying the necessary and sufficient data to define environmental risk factors for autoimmune diseases meeting current classification criteria; 2) establishing the existence of and criteria for new environmentally associated autoimmune disorders that do not meet current disease classification criteria; and 3) identifying in clinical practice specific environmental agents that induce autoimmune disease in individual patients. Here we discuss approaches that could be useful for developing criteria in these three areas, as well as factors that should be considered in evaluating the evidence for criteria that can distinguish individuals with such disorders from individuals without such disorders with high sensitivity and specificity. Current studies suggest that multiple lines of complementary evidence will be important and that in many cases there will be clinical, serologic, genetic, epigenetic, and/or other laboratory features that could be incorporated as criteria for environmentally associated autoimmune diseases to improve diagnosis and treatment and possibly allow for preventative strategies in the future.
KW - Autoimmune disease
KW - Criteria
KW - Environmental risk factors
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869864007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaut.2012.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jaut.2012.05.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 22771005
AN - SCOPUS:84869864007
VL - 39
SP - 253
EP - 258
JO - Journal of Autoimmunity
JF - Journal of Autoimmunity
SN - 0896-8411
IS - 4
ER -