title: Immunocytochemical binding to neurons of serum from spinocerebellar degeneration patients.
abstract: Antineural antibodies have been described in sera of patients with neurodegenerative disorders. We looked for the presence of those antibodies in the sera of patients with spinocerebellar degeneration. Serum IgG from four patients with familial spinocerebellar degeneration showed strong binding to cerebral cortical neurons, Purkinje cells, and dorsal root ganglia of normal human tissue sections stained with the peroxidase antiperoxidase (PAP) method at serum dilution of 1:500. No binding to neuroglia cells or cells of the granular layer of the cerebellum was seen. Sera from four immediate, asymptomatic relatives (son or sibling) showed only moderate binding to Purkinje cells and to dorsal root ganglia, but not to cortical neurons. Sera from seven patients with neurological diseases other than spinocerebellar degeneration and from five healthy subjects showed no binding to neural elements. The findings may be of value in the diagnosis and screening of patients suspected of having spinocerebellar degeneration; however, the significance of these antineural antibodies in the pathogenesis of spinocerebellar degeneration is uncertain and awaits further studies.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001666:Binding Sites, Antibody; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology*; D013132:Spinocerebellar Degenerations / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G