EFNS Task Force Report: a questionnaire-based survey on the service provision and quality assurance for determination of diagnostic autoantibody tests in European neuroimmunology centres

Autoantibodies to a wide variety of neural components are frequently sought in the sera of patients with neurological diseases suspected to have an an tibody-associated autoimmune basis. Variations in assay methodology and ava ilability are likely to exist throughout European diagnostic immunology cen tres, and interlaboratory discrepancies in performance for some assays have been reported. The availability of quality assurance is largely unknown. I n this questionnaire-based EFNS task force, all 18 national representatives of the Neuroimmunology Panel within the EFNS were invited to estimate the service provision within their country; 12 panel members responded. From th ese responses, it emerged that a range of assays are being performed throug hout European centres, involving over 20 separate antigens, using a broad a rray of immunodetection techniques. With the exception of the estimation of anti-AChR antibodies for the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, no systematic quality assurance schemes are available, this being conducted on an ad hoc basis, or not at all. Since quality is a central component of assay sensit ivity and specificity, we conclude that there is an urgent need to introduc e pan-European quality assurance schemes, based on provision of positive an d negative test sera from a central source, and in which all neuroimmunolog y laboratories should participate.