A novel quantitative ELISA as accurate and reproducible tool to detect epidermal transglutaminase antibodies in patients with Dermatitis Herpetiformis.

I Editor i Serology for anti-epidermal transglutaminase antibodies (Anti-TG3 Abs) has attracted interest, being inexpensive and non-invasive and could ideally replace skin biopsy for the diagnosis of Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH).1 The current commercially available ELISA (Elisa kit) for serum Anti-TG3 Abs overall has a good specificity (84-100%)2-4; however, its clinical use is limited due to variable sensitivity (45-100%) and low specificity in Coeliac Disease (CD) patients (47-85%) in whom Anti-TG3 Abs may be present in the absence of DH.2,3,5-7 Here, we developed and evaluated the diagnostic performance of a novel ELISA to quantitatively measure Anti-TG3 Abs. Interestingly, the specificity of the novel ELISA varied when considering CD patients by age and was higher in patients <=25 years (specificity 97%) versus patients >25 years (specificity 55%). [Extracted from the article]