Neurology

Necrotizing autoimmune myopathy (NAM) is a serious but rare muscle disease strongly associated with autoantibodies to either the protein signal recognition particle (SRP) or the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR). NAM typically manifests with subacute proximal limb muscle weakness and persistently elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) concentrations, but slower onsets can occur and complicate diagnosis.

This week’s Research Roundup highlights paraneoplastic neuronal intermediate filament autoimmunity.

In 2017, Mayo Clinic launched a first-in-the-U.S. clinical test to help patients with some autoimmune disorders get the right diagnosis faster. The test defines a new form of inflammatory demyelinating disease, called myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein autoimmunity, which is distinct from multiple sclerosis, with which it is commonly confused.

Andrew McKeon, M.D., M.B., B.Ch., and Sean J. Pittock, M.D., neurologists and co-directors of the Mayo Clinic Neuroimmunology Laboratory in Rochester, Minnesota, answer questions about Mayo Clinic's new test.

This week’s Research Roundup highlights potential genetic modifiers of disease risk and age at onset in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and GRN mutations.

For people with encephalitis, rapid treatment of their acute brain inflammation is critical for avoiding devastating physical and cognitive deficits. But appropriate treatment requires identifying the culprit causing the symptoms.

Encephalitis caused by the immune system attacking the brain is similar in frequency to encephalitis from infections, Mayo Clinic researchers report in Annals of Neurology.

Life with an inherited disease sometimes brings unexpected twists and turns. Learn how five-year-old Gus Erickson has navigated the gyrations with the help of Mayo Clinic’s Neurofibromatosis Clinic.

A study by Mayo Clinic researchers found that most patients with suspected spinal cord inflammation of unknown cause have an alternative, specific diagnosis. The research is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Discovery's Edge, Mayo Clinic's research magazine, recently highlighted how new tests are developed in Mayo Clinic’s Neuroimmunology Laboratory.

This week’s Research Roundup highlights the association between microinfarcts and blood pressure trajectories.

Mayo Clinic has launched a first-in-the-U.S. clinical test that will help patients who recently have been diagnosed with an inflammatory demyelinating disease but may be unsure of the exact disorder.

This week’s Research Roundup highlights rates of hippocampal atrophy and presence of post-mortem TDP-43 in patients with Alzheimer's disease.