title: Immunotherapy in autoimmune neuromuscular disorders.
abstract: Important progress has been made in our understanding of the cellular and molecular processes underlying autoimmune neuromuscular diseases that has led us to identify targets for rational therapeutic intervention. Although antigen-specific immunotherapy is not yet available, old and new immunomodulatory treatments, alone or in combination, provide effective immunotherapy for most autoimmune disorders. In parallel, the achievements of molecular medicine provide more specific yet largely experimental therapeutic tools that need to be tested in the human diseases. Here we review the principles and targets of immunotherapy for autoimmune neuromuscular disorders, address applications and practical guidelines, and give an outlook on future developments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Clinical Research Group for Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. r.gold@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de <r.gold@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de>
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Marinos C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dalakas
authors.forename: Klaus V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Toyka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007167:Immunotherapy; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*