New Diagnostic Test for Lupus

The FDA has cleared for market a new screening test for lupus called the Anti-SR protein antibody assay. The test is expected to pick up the 20% of systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE) cases that previously could not be detected using standard blood screening tests; this is because some people do not make the antibodies that are used to detect the disease using standard tests.

Researchers recently identified molecules called SR proteins that are useful biomarkers because the majority of people with lupus produce antibodies to them. ?This test will improve the ability for doctors to make correct decisions when diagnosing SLE, and we also have evidence that this test is of value in determining where in the body the disease will present itself,? said test developer Mark Roth, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune-based disease marked by inflamation of connective tissues throughout the body, including organs.