Guidelines for treatment of immune-mediated cerebellar ataxias

Cerebellum Ataxias. 2015 Nov 10:2:14. doi: 10.1186/s40673-015-0034-y. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Immune-mediated cerebellar ataxias include gluten ataxia, paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, GAD antibody associated cerebellar ataxia, and Hashimoto's encephalopathy. Despite the identification of an increasing number of immune-mediated cerebellar ataxias, there is no proposed standardized therapy. We evaluated the efficacies of immunotherapies in reported cases using a common scale of daily activity. The analysis highlighted the importance of removal of autoimmune triggering factors (e.g., gluten or cancer) and the need for immunotherapy evaluation (e.g., corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, immunosuppressants) and adaptation according to each subtype.

Keywords: Anti-GAD antibodies; Cerebellar ataxias; Gluten ataxia; Hashimoto’s encephalopathy; Immunotherapy; Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

Publication types

  • Review