title: New feasible treatment for refractory autoimmune encephalitis: Low-dose interleukin-2.
abstract: Low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) restores the balance of regulatory and effector T cells. We aimed to determine the feasibility of low-dose IL-2 as a treatment for refractory autoimmune encephalitis (AE). Ten patients who had received low-dose IL-2 were retrospectively identified. We observed an improvement in the modified Rankin Scale scores of six patients at the last follow-up compared with the scores at the initiation of low-dose IL-2 (p=0.014). One patient experienced treatment-related grade 3 neutropenia. Overall, low-dose IL-2 is a feasible and relatively safe treatment for AE patients who are refractory to the first- and second-line immunotherapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Ah
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Tae
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jangsup
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Byeong-Su
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Neurology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Ick
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Neurology, Soonchunhyang University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Sang
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sunwoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Il
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Keun-Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Kun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Laboratory for Neurotherapeutics, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: stemcell.snu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2
keywords: Autoimmune encephalitis; Encephalitis; Low-dose IL-2; Regulatory T cell