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Autoimmunity

COVID-19 linked to rise in anti-MDA5 autoimmunity

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 20, page 395 (2024)Cite this article

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The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by a surge in cases of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein-5 (MDA5) autoimmunity, with epidemiological and clinical features distinct from those of anti-MDA5-positive dermatomyositis, as highlighted in a new retrospective observational analysis. The researchers introduce the term ‘MDA5-autoimmunity and interstitial pneumonitis contemporaneous with the COVID-19 pandemic’ (MIP-C) to describe this phenomenon.

60 new cases of anti-MDA5 autoimmunity occurred between 2020 and 2022 in Yorkshire, UK, which correlated with regional positivity for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 vaccination rates. The rate of interstitial lung disease (ILD) was much lower in these cases (occurring in 42% of patients) than in historical cohorts of anti-MDA5-positive dermatomyositis. All the patients had clinical features of autoimmune connective tissue disease, including myositis, Raynaud phenomena and dermatomyositis spectrum rashes.

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  1. Nature Reviews Rheumatology http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

    Jessica McHugh

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  1. Jessica McHugh
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Correspondence to Jessica McHugh.

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McHugh, J. COVID-19 linked to rise in anti-MDA5 autoimmunity. Nat Rev Rheumatol 20, 395 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-024-01134-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-024-01134-4

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