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Survival of neurons is dependent on the presence of trophic and non-trophic factors. Previous findings showed that purine nucleosides have the potential to rescue cells from hypoxia-induced cell death. Here we demonstrate that purine nucleoside guanosine can efficiently rescue neuronal PC12 cells from serum deprivation-induced cell death. By means of Hoechst/propidium iodide staining and fluorescence analysis a 31.1% decrease of cell death was detected. These data support current efforts to propagate purine nucleosides as neuroprotective and neuroregenerative substances.

Objective: Drug-resistant seizures are common in patients with leucine-rich, glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1)-IgG associated and contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2)-IgG associated encephalitis. We performed the first randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in reducing seizure frequency.Methods: Our enrollment goal was 30 LGI1/CASPR2-IgG-seropositive adult patients with ≥2 seizures per week. Patients were randomized to receive IVIG (0.5g/kg day 1, 1g/kg day 2, 0.6g/kg weeks 3 and 5) or volume-matched intravenous normal saline. Following the blinded phase, the nonresponders in the placebo group received IVIG. The primary clinical outcome was 50% reduction in seizure frequency from baseline to 5 weeks.Results: After enrollment of 17 patients (LGI1-IgG, 14; CASPR2-IgG, 3) over 34 months, the study was terminated due to slow enrollment. Six of 8 patients in the IVIG group were responders, compared to 2 of 9 in the placebo group (p = 0.044, odds ratio = 10.5, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-98.9). For the LGI1-IgG seropositive subgroup, 6 of 8 patients in the IVIG group were responders, compared to zero of 6 in the placebo group. Two LGI1-IgG-seropositive patients receiving IVIG, but none receiving placebo, were seizure-free at the end of the blinded phase. Four of the 6 patients entering the open-label IVIG arm reported ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency. There were no correlations with LGI1/CASPR2-IgG1-4 subclasses.Interpretation: Superiority of IVIG to placebo reached statistical significance for the primary endpoint for all patients and the subset with LGI1-IgG. These results have to be interpreted with the caveat that the study did not reach its originally selected sample size. ANN NEUROL 2020;87:313-323. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we report the clinical features of 32 patients with gamma aminobutyric acid B receptor (GABABR) antibodies, identify additional autoantibodies in patients with anti-GABABR encephalitis that mark the presence of an underlying small cell lung carcinoma and optimize laboratory methods for the detection of GABABR antibodies. Patients (n = 3225) were tested for the presence of GABABR antibodies using cell-based assay, immunohistochemistry and live hippocampal neurons. Clinical data were obtained retrospectively. Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing (KCTD)16 antibodies were identified by immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry analysis and cell-based assays. KCTD16 antibodies were identified in 23/32 patients with anti-GABABR encephalitis, and in 1/26 patients with small cell lung carcinoma and Hu antibodies, but not in 329 healthy subjects and disease controls. Of the anti-GABABR encephalitis patients that were screened sufficiently, 18/19 (95%) patients with KCTD16 antibodies had a tumour versus 3/9 (33%) anti-GABABR encephalitis patients without KCTD16 antibodies (P = 0.001). In most cases this was a small cell lung carcinoma. Patients had cognitive or behavioural changes (97%) and prominent seizures (90%). Thirteen patients developed a refractory status epilepticus with intensive care unit admittance (42%). Strikingly, 4/32 patients had a rapidly progressive dementia. The addition of KCTD16 to the GABABR cell-based assay improved sensitivity of the in-house fixed cell-based assay, without loss of specificity. Twenty-two of 26 patients improved (partially) to immunotherapy or chemotherapy. Anti-GABABR encephalitis is a limbic encephalitis with prominent, severe seizures, but patients can also present with rapidly progressive dementia. The co-occurrence of KCTD16 antibodies points towards a paraneoplastic origin. The addition of KCTD16 improves the sensitivity of the cell-based assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we report the clinical features of 32 patients with gamma aminobutyric acid B receptor (GABABR) antibodies, identify additional autoantibodies in patients with anti-GABABR encephalitis that mark the presence of an underlying small cell lung carcinoma and optimize laboratory methods for the detection of GABABR antibodies. Patients (n = 3225) were tested for the presence of GABABR antibodies using cell-based assay, immunohistochemistry and live hippocampal neurons. Clinical data were obtained retrospectively. Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing (KCTD)16 antibodies were identified by immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry analysis and cell-based assays. KCTD16 antibodies were identified in 23/32 patients with anti-GABABR encephalitis, and in 1/26 patients with small cell lung carcinoma and Hu antibodies, but not in 329 healthy subjects and disease controls. Of the anti-GABABR encephalitis patients that were screened sufficiently, 18/19 (95%) patients with KCTD16 antibodies had a tumour versus 3/9 (33%) anti-GABABR encephalitis patients without KCTD16 antibodies (P = 0.001). In most cases this was a small cell lung carcinoma. Patients had cognitive or behavioural changes (97%) and prominent seizures (90%). Thirteen patients developed a refractory status epilepticus with intensive care unit admittance (42%). Strikingly, 4/32 patients had a rapidly progressive dementia. The addition of KCTD16 to the GABABR cell-based assay improved sensitivity of the in-house fixed cell-based assay, without loss of specificity. Twenty-two of 26 patients improved (partially) to immunotherapy or chemotherapy. Anti-GABABR encephalitis is a limbic encephalitis with prominent, severe seizures, but patients can also present with rapidly progressive dementia. The co-occurrence of KCTD16 antibodies points towards a paraneoplastic origin. The addition of KCTD16 improves the sensitivity of the cell-based assay., (© The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Objectives: To analyze the frequency of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antibodies in patients with various inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the CNS and to determine their clinical correlates., Methods: Retrospective case-control study from 2005 to 2014 with the detection of serum IgG antibodies to NMDAR, aquaporin-4, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein by recombinant live cell-based immunofluorescence assays. Fifty-one patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, 41 with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, 34 with clinically isolated syndrome, and 89 with multiple sclerosis (MS) were included. Due to a known association of NMDAR antibodies with seizures and behavioral symptoms, patients with those clinical manifestations were preferentially included and are therefore overrepresented in our cohort. Nine patients with NMDAR encephalitis, 94 patients with other neurologic diseases, and 48 healthy individuals were used as controls., Results: NMDAR antibodies were found in all 9 patients with NMDAR encephalitis but in only 1 of 215 (0.5%) patients with inflammatory demyelination and in none of the controls. This patient had relapsing-remitting MS with NMDAR antibodies present at disease onset, with an increase in NMDAR antibody titer with the onset of psychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits., Conclusion: In demyelinating disorders, NMDAR antibodies are uncommon, even in those with symptoms seen in NMDAR encephalitis.