Autoimmune Neurology

Andrew McKeon, M.B., B.Ch., M.D., discusses updates that are being made to Mayo Clinic Laboratories' autoimmune profile that will remove some antibodies from those profiles. He describes the rationale behind the updates, reviews which antibodies are involved, and explains how the changes will streamline testing and enhance test interpretation.

Based on studies that have shown certain antibodies may not be as clinically relevant to autoimmune testing as previously thought, Mayo Clinic Laboratories is updating a number of its autoimmune profiles by removing some antibodies from them.

Christopher Klein, M.D., discusses Mayo Clinic’s updated myasthenia gravis and Lambert-Eaton syndrome testing approach. Automatic reflex to second-line testing saves time and increases sensitivity and specificity to confirm diagnosis in patients with atypical presentation.

Andrew McKeon, M,B., B.Ch., M.D., provides an overview of Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new paraneoplastic vision loss evaluation — a test that can help direct a cancer diagnosis and guide treatment. He reviews why this test was developed, when it should be ordered, and how the results can affect patient care.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” John Mills, Ph.D., explains the central role of tissue immunofluorescence in the identification of neural antibodies and discusses the benefits of an integrated laboratory approach to the development and validation of novel antibody biomarkers.

The clinical presentations, evaluation (including diagnostic antibody testing), and treatment of autoimmune pediatric CNS disorders, including encephalitides and myelopathies.