Pittock Sean J, Vincent Angela
Departments of Laboratory Medicine/Pathology and Neurology, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Handb Clin Neurol. 2016;133:3-14. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63432-0.00001-3.
Considering the diversity and numbers of targets expressed on the estimated 500 billion glia and slightly less numerous but more diverse neurons, if any channel, receptor or protein on such a cell can be the target of the immune system, we need only imagine the possibilities. As those before us looked to the heavens and ultimately walked on the moon, we need to recognize the potential implications of autoimmune neurology - a new subspecialty in neurology that has truly launched! Its importance cannot be overstated as many of the disorders now recognized as autoimmune are treatable and reversible, representing a shift from the traditional view held by many in the lay and medical community that neurologists diagnose but don't treat! In this introductory chapter we provide a brief over-view of how the field developed, tabulate the authors and contents of the individual topics covered in each chapter, and describe some of the on-going challenges of the field.
考虑到估计有5000亿个神经胶质细胞所表达的靶点的多样性和数量，以及数量略少但更多样化的神经元，如果这样一个细胞上的任何通道、受体或蛋白质都可能成为免疫系统的靶点，我们只需想象一下其中的可能性。正如我们之前的人仰望天空并最终登上月球一样，我们需要认识到自身免疫性神经病学的潜在影响——神经病学中的一个新的亚专业，它已经真正起步了！其重要性无论如何强调都不为过，因为现在许多被认为是自身免疫性的疾病都是可治疗和可逆的，这代表了从许多外行和医学界人士持有的传统观点的转变，即神经科医生只负责诊断而不负责治疗！在这一介绍性章节中，我们简要概述了该领域的发展历程，列出了各章所涵盖的各个主题的作者和内容，并描述了该领域目前面临的一些挑战。
