PhD defence Anita Marissa Vinke

Keywords: Autoimmune encephalitis, Epilepsy, Antibodies

"Autoantibodies and neurology; exploring the horizon"

During this PhD project, we are investigating the relationship between antibodies targeting the brain. We are focusing in particular on the anti-GAD antibody, which can occur in patients with type 1 diabetes but can also cause neurological symptoms. Our cohort shows that psychiatric symptoms are relatively rare, but epilepsy is common. In addition, we see that high titers can occur in patients with type 1 diabetes without additional neuropsychiatric complaints.

We also describe a patient with a new clinical presentation of an already known antibody and share our findings of a highly probable, new, as yet unknown antigen.

Finally, we look at the relationship between antibodies in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome, suggesting a direct effect of the antibodies on the brain as a possible cause of epilepsy.

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