Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Division of Rheumatology AOUC Careggi, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
Evelina Fagone
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Regional Referral Centre for Rare Lung Disease, Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Mary Fruciano
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Regional Referral Centre for Rare Lung Disease, Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Elisa Gili
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Regional Referral Centre for Rare Lung Disease, Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Alessandro Libra
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Regional Referral Centre for Rare Lung Disease, Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Stefano Palmucci
Department of Medical Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “GF Ingrassia”, University Hospital Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, 95123 Catania, Italy
Carlo Vancheri
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Regional Referral Centre for Rare Lung Disease, Policlinico “G. Rodolico-San Marco”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Lorenzo Malatino
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Cannizzaro Hospital, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Michele Colaci
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Cannizzaro Hospital, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common rheumatologic disorder characterised by widespread muscular pain. Myalgia is also a common clinical feature in Connective Tissue Disease (CTD), and FM should be studied for the concomitant presence of a CTD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of Myositis-Specific and Myositis-Associated Antibodies (MSA/MAA) in a cohort of FM patients. We enrolled 233 consecutive FM patients (defined according to the 2016 criteria) that did not report clinical signs of autoimmune disorders and followed them for at least one year. The patients were tested for MSA/MAA with immunoblotting. FM patients were seropositive for Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) in 24% of cases, for MSA in 9%, and for MAA in 6%. A specific diagnosis of CTD was made in 12 patients (5.2%), namely, 5 cases of primary Sjögren’s Syndrome and 7 of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy. Seropositive patients showed clinical features similar to those who were seronegative at baseline. A CTD diagnosis was associated with ANA positivity (p = 0.03, X2 4.9), the presence of a speckled pattern (p = 0.02, X2 5.3), positivity for MAA (p = 0.004, X2 8.1), and MSA (p = 0.003, X2 9.2). In conclusion, a non-negligible proportion of FM patients may be seropositive for MSA/MAA, and that seropositivity might suggest a diagnosis of CTD.
