Anti-nuclear antibodies: Practical tips on when, why and how

- Transversal Webinar for healthcare professionals


Short description
The present webinar is focused on the anti-nuclear antibodies. These autoantibodies represent the first screening test in the suspect of a systemic autoimmune diseases, and there is an increasing request of the execution of this test. In fact, currently, it is prescribed by rheumatologists, but also by general practitioners or by other specialists in the frame of outpatients’ clinics or during hospital admissions. In some cases, the evaluation of the results of this test is a specific request for a first rheumatologic consultation.
This webinar explains the basis of the laboratory techniques for their detection and their clinical value in rheumatologic conditions, but also in other diseases. The webinar is divided in two parts (20 minutes in total). The first part is entitled “Anti-nuclear antibodies: test and their specificities” (10 minutes) and the second part is “Anti-nuclear antibodies: the clinical relevance” (10 minutes).
It is addressed to healthcare professionals (general practitioners, internal medicine specialists, or physicians of other medical specialties). The aim is to give some technical but also clinical advice to colleagues for a better understanding of the meaning of this specific lab test, improving their capability to contextualize the results and understanding when it’s necessary to proceed with further tests and diagnostic procedures.
https://reconnet.ern-net.eu/


Dr. MASSIMO RADIN
Department of Clinical and biological Sciences; University of Turin
ERN ReCONNET Working group member (UCTD as Young representative and APS group)
Massimo Radin is a researcher in Clinical Pathology working at the University of Turin - University Center of Excellence on Nephrologic, Rheumatologic and Rare Diseases with Nephrology and Dialysis Unit and Center of Immuno-Rheumatology and Rare Diseases (CMID), Coordinating Center of the Interregional Network for Rare Diseases of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, San Giovanni Bosco Hub Hospital, Turin Italy.  
Dr. Radin’s research focuses on connective tissue diseases and the identification and validation of novel biomarkers in these diseases, with particular interest in pregnancy.


Dr. SILVIA PIANTONI
Rheumatology and Clinical immunology Unit, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, BRESCIA, Italy.
ERN ReCONNET Working group member (UCTD Patients’ Partnership WG) since 2022.
Silvia Piantoni (MD PhD MSc) is an Academic Researcher and Consultant Rheumatologist at the Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, ASST Spedali Civili Hospital, University Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, in Brescia (Italy). She has received the national scientific habilitation in 2019.
During her PhD in Immunology (2015-2019), she went to Geneva (Switzerland) at the Centre Médicale Universitaire (CMU) for a lab-based project. Her translational research focuses on the involvement of T lymphocytes in autoimmune diseases. She also received the MSc certificate in translational rheumatology in 2021 at the University of Florence (Italy).
She is Assistant Professor of Rheumatology for the degree course in “Medicine and Surgery” and in “Physiotherapy” at the University of Brescia.

She has been a member of the Italian Rheumatology Society since 2015, of the European Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Society (SLEuro) since 2020, and of the ERN ReCONNET UCTD Patients’ Partnership working group since 2022.
She is a member of the eular | Education Committee and of the FIRMA (Forum Interdisciplinare per la Ricerca nelle Malattie Autoimmuni, formal Italian branch of EASI - The European Autoimmunity Standardisation Initiative) since 2023.  
Silvia was the 2020-2023 Chair of the Peer Mentoring Subcommittee at the eular | emerging EULAR network (EMEUNET) and a member of the eular | PARE Committee (2021-2023).