Prof. Dr. Manfred Herold

HEROLD Manfred, MD PhD Prof.
Innsbruck Medical University Department of Internal Medicine II Rheumatology Unit, Innsbruck

Autoantibody diagnostic on Hep-2 cells
AUTHOR: HEROLD Manfred, MD PhD Prof.

In 2014 international recommendations for the assessment of autoantibodies to cellular antigens were published (1) and in the same year at the 12th International Workshop on Autoantibodies and Autoimmunity (IWAA 2014) held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, an international working committee of experts met to establish a consensus on the nomenclature of staining patterns observed in the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) on HEp-2 cell substrate (HEp-2 IIFA). The resulting consensusnomenclature and representative patterns (2) are available online at the ICAP website (www.ANApatterns.org). Consecutive productive ICAP workshops have followed (). In the ICAP classification algorithm, 29 distinct immunofluorescence patterns recognized by HEp-2 IIFA were defined and summarized into three main categories, comprising 15 nuclear, nine cytoplasmic and five mitotic patterns, respectively. Two more AC codes that address opposite aspects of the classification tree, i.e. the absence of HEp-2 IIFA reactivity and the occurrence of yet undefined HEp-2 IIFA pattern, are defined as AC-0 and AC-XX,respectively.
The aim of ICAP is to promote harmonization and understanding
of autoantibody test nomenclature, as well as interpretation guidelines for ANA testing, thereby optimizing usage in patient care.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)
AUTHOR: HEROLD Manfred, MD PhD Prof.

PsA is a chronic inflammatory musculosceletal disease associated with psoriasis. The disease is complex & heterogeneous. The average age of onset is 30 to 55 years. Sex distribution is equal. The estimated prevalence is 0,16% to 0,25%. PsA occurs in about 30% of patients with psoriasis. Extra-articular features (spondylitis, enthesitis, tendosynovitis, dactylitis, uveitis) are common. Five main types of psoriatic arthritis have been described (1).
In 2006 (2) an international group of rheumatologists developed the CASPAR (= classification of psoriatic arthritis) criteria for classification of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Treatment of psoriatic arthritis aims to control chronic inflammation (3) and includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), biological response modifiers (boDMARDs, bsDMARDs) and phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors (tsDMARDs).

Manfred Herold received his PhD in Chemistry in 1975 and his MD in 1981 both at the university of Innsbruck and got his board certification in Internal medicine 1986, in laboratory medicine 1992 and in Rheumatology 1999. Beside his work as doctor in general internal medicine his work focused to Rheumatology within the last years. Beside his clinical work he is head of the autoimmunology laboratory since many years.