title: Opsoclonus: clinical and immunological features.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Opsoclonus is felt to be a saccadic oscillation disorder but the neuroanatomical substrate for generating the abnormal eye movements is poorly understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recorded eye movements and studied serum samples from 7 patients who presented with opsoclonus and with either myoclonus or generalized tremor. Anti neuronal antibodies were detected by immunohistochemestry using rat and human cerebellar sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all patients but one the opsoclonus resolved within 2weeks (after immunosuppression in 4, resection of the underlying neoplasm in 1 and spontaneously in 1). Opsoclonus was arrhythmic and multidirectional with a wide frequency range (4-10Hz). No known paraneoplastic antibodies were found in the initial commercial screen. Three patients had antiPurkinje cell antibodies with a characteristic punctate staining in the molecular layer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical and immunological findings are consistent with the hypothesis, that in some patients, opsoclonus results from antibodies directed at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse. The antibodies block parallel fiber input to Purkinje cells allowing spontaneous oscillating activity generated in the inferior olives to be passed on to the oculomotor nuclei via the flocculus.
authors: Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095‐1769, United States.
authors: Joanna C
authors: JC
authors: Jen
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Lopez
authors: Robert W
authors: RW
authors: Baloh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D019556:COS Cells; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053578:Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; C107913:glutamate receptor delta 2