This study provides evidence that testing for gastric parietal cell antibodies is an appropriate screening test for pernicious anaemia, with intrinsic factor antibodies reserved for confirmatory testing or in patients with other autoantibodies that mask the GPC pattern; B12 levels are not related to autoantibody status.
Summary. A family was studied in which one son, a daughter and a paternal aunt showed clinical and laboratory evidence of autoimmune haemolytic disease. The father has long‐standing rheumatoid arthritis, another son has proven pernicious anaemia while one daughter, though clinically well, exhibits mild serological abnormality. Other clinically normal members of this family were also investigated. Anti‐parietal cell antibodies were demonstrated in one case of autoimmune haemolytic disease in addition to being noted in the serum of the member with pernicious anaemia. The direct antiglobulin reaction was strongly positive in those affected by haemolytic disease, but in addition a weak positive reaction was demonstrated in the case of pernicious anaemia where eluate studies indicated the possibility of an antibody similar in nature to the one present in the haemolytic cases, rather than a non‐specific reaction. The pattern of cold auto‐antibodies, warm auto‐ and iso‐antibodies and other abnormal serology found in the blood of different members of this family would appear to suggest a common hereditary basis for the diseases present.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.