Abstract

Autoimmune diseases represent a wide category of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting diverse cell types, tissues, and organs. This chapter provides an overview of the historical path, current status, and future perspectives of laboratory testing in autoimmune diseases. Since prediction is a risky task, one should be aware that some of the trends might become well established, whereas some others may not prove consistent or cost-effective. Autoantigen-supervised multiplex immunoassays are a consistent trend for autoimmune disease testing. Autoantibodies should persist as important biomarkers for autoimmune diseases, but some new concepts are emerging and may require changes in the current mindset. Autoimmune diseases result from immune dysregulation caused by the action of environmental triggers over a predisposing genetic background. Pharmacogenetics is the use of genomics to guide drug selection and adjust the drug dose by taking into consideration the patient's genetic profile.