Indirect Immunofluorescence Test Helps Diagnose Inflammatory Encephalopathic Autoimmune Disease

A new indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) allows highly sensitive, monospecific detection of autoantibodies against glutamate receptors of type N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). These autoantibodies are specific markers for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, an inflammatory encephalopathic autoimmune disease still widely under diagnosed.

Determination of antiglutamate receptor (type NMDA) antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid contributes greatly to diagnosis, particularly in patients with encephalitis of unknown origin or limbic encephalitis.

The IIFT utilizes a human recombinant cell line expressing the major target antigen to provide highly sensitive and specific detection of the autoantibodies. The new substrate can be combined with other differential-diagnostically relevant tissue substrates (e.g. hippocampus and cerebellum) as Biochip Mosaics, enabling parallel determination of other autoantibodies associated with limbic encephalitis.

The inflammatory encephalopathic autoimmune disease frequently affects young women with ovarian teratoma, but is also observed in women without tumors, in men, and in children. Patients present with severe psychotic symptoms, and often require long and intensive psychiatric care. Early diagnosis is crucial because patients often improve with immunotherapy and tumor removal.

The company Euroimmun (Lübeck, Germany) introduced the test system for detection of autoantibodies against the glutamate receptors (type NMDA). The fluorescence microscope Eurostar II is specifically tailored to the requirements of IIFT for evaluation of slides.

Euroimmun produces a wide range of reagents for medical laboratory diagnostics. Its focus is on test systems for antibodies in patient serum. These enable sensitive and specific diagnosis of autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and allergies.

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