[Cuban epidemic neuropathy. IV. The antigenic relationship of the viral isolates to the structures of the central nervous system. A possible etiopathogenic mechanism?].

Results which allow to state the existence of antigenic relationships between viruses isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients presenting with epidemic neuropathy and structures of the human central nervous system are reported. These evidences were obtained by 2 different and independent ways: 1) by the double diffusion method in agarose, immunoblot analysis, and immunohistochemical analysis it was confirmed that antibodies induced by isolated viruses react with antigens of the central and peripheral nervous system, 2) serum obtained by the immunization of a rabbit with human brain extract neutralizes the same viruses as those neutralized by hyperimmune sera obtained by isolations. The possible role of viruses as mediators of an autoimmune process in the pathogenesis of the disease is discussed.