Summary
Necrotizing autoimmune myopathies are a group of diseases which vary in their clinical presentation. Different disorders in this group can be distinguished by detection of specific antibodies in blood serum. In 2010, for the first time, novel antibodies were detected in blood serum of necrotizing auto immune myopathy patients. Only in 2011 physiological target of these antibodies was discovered – 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and the novel antibodies were named anti-HMGCR autoantibodies. During the last decade various scientific and clinical researches have discovered probable anti-HMGCR autoantibodies’ role in ethiopathology of muscular disorders and their possible connection to statin use. These findings allowed identification of a new disorder in necrotizing au to immune myopathy disease group which was named statin-associated necrotizing autoimmune myopathy. The majority of statin-associated necrotizing autoimmune myopathy patients experience muscle disorders and have anti- HMGCR autoantibodies. In order to routinely diagnose statin-associated auto immune myopathy, various immunological methods have been applied for anti- HMGCR autoantibody detection and quantification. Despite the effort, not all of these methods meet the requirements of clinical laboratories and are suitable for effective diagnosis of the disease.
