title: Brain-reactive antibodies and disease.
abstract: Autoimmune diseases currently affect 5-7% of the world's population; in most diseases there are circulating autoantibodies. Brain-reactive antibodies are present in approximately 2-3% of the general population but do not usually contribute to brain pathology. These antibodies penetrate brain tissue only early in development or under pathologic conditions. This restriction on their pathogenicity and the lack of correlation between serum titers and brain pathology have, no doubt, contributed to a delayed appreciation of the contribution of autoantibodies in diseases of the central nervous system. Nonetheless, it is increasingly clear that antibodies can cause damage in the brain and likely initiate or aggravate multiple neurologic conditions; brain-reactive antibodies contribute to symptomatology in autoimmune disease, infectious disease, and malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York 11030, USA. bdiamond@nshs.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Honig
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mader
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brimberg
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Volpe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies