Twins discordant for myositis and systemic lupus erythematosus show markedly enriched autoantibodies in the affected twin supporting environmental influences in pathogenesis

Table 1 Clinical Characteristics of 33 Affected Twins

	Discordant Affected Twins
Diagnosis	24 dermatomyositis, 6 systemic lupus erythematosus and 1 polymyositis
Number of Monozygotic Twins	71% (22/31)
Number of Dizygotic Twins	29% (9/31)
Age (mean, ± SD)	14.2 + 2.1 years
Disease Duration (mean, ± SD)	1.69+ 1.5 years
Gender (% Female)	61% (19/31)
Taking Immunosuppressive Treatment^a	93.5% (29/31)
Global Disease Activity Score^b (mean, ± SD)	20.2 + 17.3
Global Disease Damage Score^c (mean, ± SD)	7.8 + 15.8

^aTreatment included prednisone and any immunosuppressive regimen.
^bGlobal Disease Activity score was assessed by a physician familiar with the subject on a 0-100 mm visual analogue scale.
^cGlobal Disease Damage score was assessed by a physician familiar with the subject on a 0-100 mm visual analogue scale.

ISSN: 1471-2474