title: Ganglioside antibodies: a lack of diagnostic specificity and clinical utility?
abstract: Serum IgG and IgM antibodies to gangliosides GM1, GM2, GM3, AGM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b were determined in 210 patients with different degenerative and inflammatory disorders including motor neuron diseases, peripheral radiculopathies and neuropathies, multiple sclerosis and neuroborreliosis. No single disorder was associated specifically with ganglioside antibodies. No characteristic patterns of ganglioside antibodies were observed in any disease category. However, 32% of all patients had pathological antibody titres to at least one ganglioside. Four patients had pathological IgG and IgM titres for all gangliosides evaluated. They suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus [2], neuroborreliosis and schizophrenia, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of ganglioside antibody determination as a differential diagnostic test in clinical neurology is only helpful in a few patients with typical lower motor neuron syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Neurologische Universitätsklinik, Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dichgans
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kappler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiethölter
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood*; D015994:Incidence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000276:immunology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005732:Gangliosides; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M