Autoimmune Epilepsy and Neuronal Death
Author Information
Author(s): YONATAN GANOR, HADASSA GOLDBERG-STERN, DINA AMROM, TALLY LERMAN-SAGIE, VIVIAN I. TEICHBERG, DORI PELLED, ANTHONY H. FUTERMAN, BRURIA BEN ZEEV, MICHAEL FREILINGER, DENIS VERHEULPEN, PATRICK VAN BOGAERT, MIA LEVITE
Primary Institution: The Weizmann Institute of Science
Hypothesis
Can specific autoantibodies contribute to the etiology and pathology of some human epilepsies?
Conclusion
Some epilepsy patients have autoantibodies that may harm neurons and decrease after surgical treatment.
Supporting Evidence
- 29% of epilepsy patients had elevated levels of anti-GluR3B antibodies.
- Anti-GluR3B antibodies were found in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients.
- Functional hemispherotomy led to a decrease in anti-GluR3B antibodies and seizure cessation in some patients.
- Some patients' sera and CSF caused significant neuronal death in cultured hippocampal neurons.
- Elevated levels of anti-dsDNA antibodies were found in 19% of epilepsy patients.
- Additional autoimmune antibodies were detected in the serum of some RE patients.
Takeaway
Some kids with epilepsy have bad proteins in their blood that can hurt their brain, but surgery can help them feel better.
Methodology
Patients were tested for autoantibodies and their serum and cerebrospinal fluid were analyzed for neurotoxic effects.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the selection of patients and the retrospective nature of some data.
Limitations
The study had a small sample size for some analyses and results may vary based on treatment timing.
Participant Demographics
The study included 6 patients with Rasmussen's encephalitis and 71 patients with other types of epilepsy, with a mean age of 10.4 years for RE patients.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.0005
Confidence Interval
95% CI's 4.1-16.6 years
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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