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Critical Reviews™ in Neurobiology

ISSN for PRINT: 0892-0915

Institutional price:	$649.00
Issues per year:	4

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2003, Volume15

94 pages

DOI: 10.1615/CritRevNeurobiol.v15.i1

Issue price - $110.00

Autoimmunity in the Peripheral Nervous System

Angelo Quattrini
Neuropathology Unit, L24, lotto Q, Dept. Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milano, Italy

Stefano C. Previtali
Dept. of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy

Bernd C. Kieseier
Dept. of Neurology, Heinrich Heine Universitat, Dusseldorf, Germany

Reinhard Kiefer
Dept. of Neurology, Universitatsklinikum, Munster, Germany

Giancarlo Comi
Dept. of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy

Hans-Peter Hartung
Dept. of Neurology, Heinrich Heine Universitat, Dusseldorf, Germany

ABSTRACT

Autoimmune disorders of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases that result from an aberrant immune response. Most of these disorders present severe morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. Even those conditions that are self-limited may display severe disability and necessitate hospitalization. Although their etiology remains elusive, there is increasing knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms causing tissue dysfunction and structural damage. The discovery of several mediators that constitute the molecular mechanisms of cell-cell and cell-extracellular-matrix interactions has revealed insight into various aspects of the neuroimmune interaction. Classic animal models associated with new genetic approaches have further increased our comprehension of the molecular pathways that regulate inflammatory disorders of the nervous system. The aim of this review is to describe various types and functions of the principal molecular components of the neuroimmune interaction and their importance in the principal autoimmune disorders of the PNS. We also provide an extensive description of clinical and pathological features of autoimmune disorders of the PNS, along with diagnostic and therapeutic implications.