Immunologic Aspects of Neurological and Neuromuscular Diseases
- Burton Zweiman, MD;
- Barry G. W. Arnason, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
THE NERVOUS system has traditionally been considered to be an "immunologically privileged" site that is shielded by functional or anatomic barriers from systemic immune responses.1 However, several lines of experimental and clinical evidence suggest that immune responses can affect and even take place within the nervous system. For example, most of the immunoglobulins (Igs) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are secreted within the neuraxis. This may involve more ready trafficking of immunocompetent cells into the nervous system than previously suspected. Some nervous system and lymphoid cells may express similar receptors for certain agonists and/or cross-reacting cell surface determinants. These events may be suggested by immunologic findings in the clinical disorders described later herein.
IDIOPATHIC POLYNEURITIS (GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME) Clinical Features Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is characterized pathologically by cellular infiltration of the peripheral nervous system with lymphocytes and macrophages and by destruction of myelin.2 It is characterized clinically by subacute
