Progress of clinical research on autoimmune⁃associated epilepsy

Abstract

Etiology of epilepsy is complex. Immune has been defined as one of the etiological groups of epilepsy. Autoimmune epilepsy attracts experts worldwide to investigate and new conceptual definitions has been proposed. Based on the pathophysiology, autoimmune epilepsy includes two entities, which are acute symptomatic seizures secondary to autoimmune encephalitis (AE) and autoimmune⁃associated epilepsy (AAE). We interpret the new concepts, the characteristics of extracellular and intracellular neuronal antibodies which contribute to the pathogenesis of epilepsy, and AE manifested by seizures in this review. We hope that the article helps researchers and clinicians have a better understanding of AAE and use standard terms in practical situations, thus improving diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.

Keywords

• encephalitis
• autoimmune diseases
• epilepsy
• autoantibodies
• neurons
• review