[Clinical utility of measurement for anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b antibodies].

Gangliosides, important constituents of the plasma membrane, are particularly abundant in the nervous system. Some patients develop Guillain-Barré syndrome after the administration of bovine brain gangliosides. We previously showed existence of molecular mimicry between GM1 ganglioside and lipopolysaccharide of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from the patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and that between GQ1b and C. jejuni isolated from Fisher's syndrome patients. Moreover, the anti-ganglioside antibody can cause motor nerve dysfunction in vitro. These support the pathogenic significance of anti-ganglioside antibodies. To clarify clinical utility of measurement for anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b antibodies, we investigated sera from 429 patients with immunoneurological diseases included Fisher's syndrome, Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis, acute ophthalmoparesis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, and controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found very high titers of IgM anti-GM1 antibody in serum from a patient who had been diagnosed as having motor neuron disease. By further electrophysiological study, the patient was diagnosed as having multifocal motor neuropathy. Presence of high IgG anti-GM1 antibody titers was useful for supporting diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, IgG anti-GQ1b antibody was detected in patients who had paresis of extraocular muscles in Fisher's syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis, and acute ophthalmoparesis. This study showed that the measurement for anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b antibodies are very useful.