Ganglioside agglutination immunoassay for rapid detection of autoantibodies in immune-mediated neuropathy

Elevated levels of serum autoantibodies directed against gangliosides are c losely associated with acute and chronic autoimmune neuropathies. An agglut ination immunoassay using polystyrene microparticles coated with a total ex tract of brain gangliosides was used to test patient sera for the presence of anti-ganglioside antibodies. Results were compared with those obtained b y ELISA for anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b ganglioside antibodies. Eight of the twe lve sera from patients with multifocal motor neuropathy and seven of the th irteen sera from patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome were positive for th e presence of anti-ganglioside antibodies by the ganglioside agglutination immunoassay. The assay compared favorably with the ELISA system in sensitiv ity and specificity, while requiring a fraction of the time and cost to per form. The new assay can serve as a rapid and effective method for detecting or screening for anti-ganglioside antibodies in patients with acute or chr onic immune-mediated neuropathies. It would be particularly useful for dete cting antibodies that react with multiple gangliosides, or with minor or as yet uncharacterized gangliosides. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.