<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p><italic>Purpose</italic>: Elucidating the potential contribution of specific autoantibodies (Ab's)
            to the etiology and/or pathology of some human epilepsies. <italic>Methods</italic>: Six epilepsy
            patients with Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) and 71 patients with other epilepsies
            were tested for Ab's to the –B— peptide (amino acids 372-395) of the glutamate/AMPA
             subtype 3 receptor (GluR3B peptide), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), and
             additional autoimmune disease-associated autoantigens, and for the ability of their
             serum and cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) to kill neurons. <italic>Results</italic>: Elevated anti-GluR3B
              Ab's were found in serum and CSF of most RE patients, and in serum of 17/71
              (24%) patients with other epilepsies. In two RE patients, anti-GluR3B Ab's
              decreased drastically in CSF following functional-hemispherotomy, in association
              with seizure cessation and neurological improvement. Serum and CSF of two RE
              patients, and serum of 12/71 (17%) patients with other epilepsies, contained
              elevated anti-dsDNA Ab's, the hallmark of systemic-lupus-erythematosus. The sera
              (but not the CSF) of some RE patients contained also clinically elevated levels of
              –classical— autoimmune Ab's to glutamic-acid-decarboxylase,
              cardiolipin,
              β2-glycoprotein-I and nuclear-antigens SS-A and RNP-70. Sera and CSF of some
              RE patients caused substantial death of hippocampal neurons. <italic>Conclusions</italic>: Some
              epilepsy patients harbor Ab's to GluR3 and dsDNA on both sides of the blood-brain
               barrier, and additional autoimmune Ab's only in serum. Since all these Ab's may
               be detrimental to the nervous system and/or peripheral organs, we recommend
               testing
            for their presence in epilepsy, and silencing their activity in Ab-positive patients.</p>
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Clin Dev Immunol. 2004 Sep-Dec; 11(3-4):241-252