Dr. Jeffrey Britton, a neurologist specializing in epilepsy at Mayo Clinic, discusses autoimmune epilepsy. Visit mayocl.in/2DT8wMS to request an appointment for autoimmune epilepsy care at Mayo Clinic.
Autoimmune disorders are conditions where the body’s immune system starts attacking a patient’s own tissues. With autoimmune epilepsy, the immune system targets nerve cells which may result in epilepsy.
Autoimmune neurologic disorders may have symptoms beyond epilepsy and seizures. Typically with autoimmune epilepsy, seizures at onset are much more frequent than other cases of epilepsy. They tend to arise fairly suddenly and patients may have seizures more than one per day. Other signs that raise the possibility of autoimmune epilepsy include the presence of another autoimmune disorder such as type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, immune thyroid disease and other immunologic diseases. Other symptoms of autoimmune epilepsy may include declines in memory or movement disorders.
Diagnosis of autoimmune epilepsy requires a laboratory that can run neurologic antibody tests. Mayo Clinic has a world-class neuroimmunology lab which specializes in the identification of these neurologic antibodies, which new discoveries annually. Mayo Clinic sees a large number of autoimmune epilepsy cases each year and specializes in the diagnostic and treatment of autoimmune epilepsy conditions.
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