The clinical autoimmunologist and the laboratory autoimmunologist: the two sides of the coin.

The objective of this review is to analyze the causes of the increasing interest of laboratory medicine in the definition and characterization of a new sub-discipline, laboratory autoimmunology, concerning the development and the clinical use of tests for measuring circulating autoantibodies and the study of autoimmune serological reactions. The laboratory autoimmunologist's task includes knowledge of the range of technical solutions available to identify the different types of autoantibodies and provide laboratory consult for improving utilization of laboratory results. Along with the figure of the laboratory autoimmunologist, the position of clinical autoimmunologist not only has been proposed but has already found its first concrete applications. This is a specialist with a wide knowledge of those symptoms and diagnostic procedures necessary to identify autoimmune diseases, and who is familiar with the range of therapies available to treat various diseases. Cooperation between the two autoimmunology specialists will lead to a more up-to-date and efficient management of autoimmune patients.