Clinical analysis of nine cases of neuroimmune disease with antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the clinical features, auxiliary examinations, therapies and prognoses of patients with antibodies targeting glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65).Methods:The nine patients with anti-GAD65 neuroimmune disease, admitted to Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2018 to October 2020, were analyzed, retrospectively.Results:The onset age of nine cases was 17-68 (43.6±20.5) years old, and six cases were female. Two cases had preceding infection. The data of initial symptoms were collected and analyzed, including epileptic onset in four cases, memory impairment in two cases, dizziness in two cases and limb stiffness in one case. As the disease continued to advance, one case developed cerebellar ataxia, one case presented with isolated epilepsy, five cases suffered from limbic encephalitis, one case had stiffman syndrome, one case had brainstem encephalitis. Five cases had antibodies against thyroid peroxidase. Brain magnetic resonance imaging scan showed abnormal signals of T 2/fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequences in four cases, mainly involved bilateral temporal lobes or hippocampus. Epileptiform discharges of frontal or temporal regions of electroencephalography were observed in six cases. All cases received immunotherapy and long-term follow-up was performed in seven cases. Four cases benefited from the immunotherapy. Among the four patients, one fully recovered and returned to work, the other three cases developed neurologic sequelae, including seizures (two cases), and short-term memory loss (one case). The remaining three patients were unresponsive to treatment. Conclusions:GAD65 antibody-mediated neuroimmune disease is a rare neurological disorder, presenting with various syndromes including limbic encephalitis or stiffman syndrome, which is more susceptible to young female. The clinical manifestations included epileptic onset, limb stiffness, cognitive impairment and cerebellar ataxia, etc. Detection of GAD65 antibody in serum or cerebrospinal fluid was gold standard. Early immunotherapy contributed to improving the prognosis of patients, especially for those patients with epileptic onset as the main symptom.