Follow-up of patients with epilepsy harboring antiglycine receptor antibodies


EKIZOĞLU E., Baykan B., SEZGIN M., ERDAG E., GUNDOGDU-UNVERENGIL G., VANLı-YAVUZ E., ...More

EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR, pp.103-107, 2019 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2018.09.034
  • Journal Name: EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.103-107
  • Keywords: Epilepsy, Glycinc receptor antibodies, Prognosis, Therapy, Autoimmune epilepsy, NEURONAL AUTOANTIBODIES, FOCAL EPILEPSY, FEATURES
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Objective: The long-term follow-up of patients with epilepsy harboring autoantibodies against the glycine receptor (also glycine receptor antibodies or GlyR-Ab) is not well-known. Our aim was to investigate the 5-year prognosis and treatment response of patients with epilepsy who were seropositive for GlyR-Ab. Methods: Clinical features; electroencephalogram (EEG), neuroradiological, and neuropathological findings; and treatment responses of patients with epilepsy with GlyR-Ab seropositivity were investigated. Results: Thirteen (5.46%) of 238 patients with epilepsy were GlyR-Ab positive: focal epilepsy of unknown cause (FEoUC) was diagnosed in four (7.27%) out of 55 patients, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sderosis (MTLE-HS) in five (4.5%) out of 111 patients, epileptic encephalopathy (EE) in two (4%) out of 50 patients, and status epilepticus (SE) in two (9.09%) out of 22 patients. None of the patients developed any other neurological symptoms or cancer during the 5-year follow-up. Seven of them had seizures that were resistant to antiepileptic drug (AED). Immunotherapy was used in two patients (with FEoUC and EE) improving seizure control. Three patients with MTLE-HS benefited from epilepsy surgery, and another patient with EE showed spontaneous remission. Conclusion: Glycine receptor antibodies are detected in a wide spectrum of epileptic disorders with undear pathogenic significance. Two GlyR-Ab seroposilive patients with AED-resistant epilepsy treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (Mg) showed dear benefit from immunotherapy. Future studies will be valuable in determining the role of screening patients with drug-resistant epilepsy for GlyR-Ab in order to identify patients who may benefit or respond to immunotherapy. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.