hi cycleclops

About the ANA pattern - they should be taken as rough guides only, and it's not possible to dx anything based purely on the pattern. Also, they need to be taken in conjunction with the clinical picture before dx can be attempted. Which is really annoying, but then again there are lots of annoying things about these stupid diseases! I am very blessed to have lots of lupus type antibodies (anti ds-dna, anti-sm etc) and symptoms, making my lupus very easy to dx. I really feel for people who struggle to get a dx.

hth
raglet