Top 10 facts about the world. Hand atrophy is a condition that causes muscles of the hand deteriorate and wither away. Also called muscle wasting, hand atrophy leads the muscles to begin to lose their bulk and strength. This in turn may cause a general decrease in the ability of the hand to move.
Why the test is used: Between 75% and 90% of people with lupus have a positive anti-dsDNA test. Also, the test is very specific for lupus. Therefore, a positive test can be useful in confirming a diagnosis. For many people, the titer, or level, of the antibodies rises as the disease becomes more active.
These include malar erythema (butterfly rash), discoid lupus, and subacute cutaneous lupus. A biopsy of the skin will show changes of the skin that are characteristic of lupus in a majority of patients. Therefore, in helping the doctor to diagnose lupus the skin biopsy can be very important, especially when other criteria for lupus are absent. The biopsy findings in the skin will usually demonstrate inflammation in a particular level of the skin layers (between the dermis and epidermis).