title: T-cell-mediated ganglionitis associated with acute sensory neuronopathy.
abstract: A 67-year-old man presented with acute painful sensory loss, areflexia, ataxia, urinary retention, and severe constipation and became unable to walk within 2 weeks. He died suddenly 5 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Autopsy revealed widespread inflammation of sensory and autonomic ganglia with immunocytochemical evidence of a CD8+ T cell-mediated cytotoxic attack against ganglion neurons. This observation suggests a novel pathogenetic mechanism of immune-mediated human ganglion cell damage comparable to mechanisms operating in polymyositis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hainfellner
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kristoferitsch
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lassmann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bernheimer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neisser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drlicek
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budka
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D005725:Ganglia, Autonomic / Q000473:pathology; D017950:Ganglia, Sensory / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009443:Neuritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D013497:Sural Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000502:physiology*