IDIBAPS participates in the creation of the first international criteria for the diagnosis of IgG4 disease

IgG4 is a subclass of immunoglobulin G that represents only between 3 and 6% of total serum immunoglobulin G and is involved in a broad spectrum of clinical entities. This entities usually are characterized by an inflammatory reaction, alone or as a diffuse mass, single or multiple, affecting exocrine glands, lymph nodes or extranodal tissue. IgG4 related disease has an autoimmune basis and was described only ten years ago. The diversity in clinical presentation makes diagnosis is very complex.

Recently an international co-operation has been started for the creation of the first criteria to detect the disease more accurately and quickly. The project is backed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and includes over 100 researchers from around the world. The project is coordinated by John H. Stone (American Coordinator), professor at Harvard Medical School, and Manuel Ramos-Casals (European Coordinator), researcher at the Autoimmune Disease Research Group of IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic.

The first results will be presented at the Third International Symposium IgG4-RD that will take place in mid-February 2017.