Antibody activation and immune reactions: potential linkage to pain and neuropathy.
Immune responses are an input source of modulation/modification for the peripheral nervous system that can result in pain and/or peripheral neuropathy. The resulting pain can be a significant debilitating component of many diseases as well as an untoward side effect of treatment. This paper briefly describes three sources of peripheral neuropathy generated in the presence of, or associated with, an immune response. Two are classified as autoimmune diseases. The body, in an attempt to rid itself of a tumor or an invading bacterial infection or virus, attacks its nervous system due to molecular mimicry; this results in, respectively, paraneoplastic neuropathy or inflammatory polyneuropathy. The third neuropathic pain syndrome is iatrogenic and occurs after administration of an antibody to GD2 ganglioside as an immunotherapy for neuroblastoma. This paper will attempt to point out some common elements in their neuropathologies and mechanisms.
Sorkin
L S
LS
Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0818, USA. lsorkin@ucsd.edu