News Release

Mayo Clinic researchers develop new antibody

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mayo Clinic

Test to help diagnose autonomic disorders

ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new test that will help physicians distinguish autonomic disorders caused by the immune system from other autonomic disorders, allowing for more accurate diagnosis and timely treatment of patients.

The study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, reports the finding of a new antibody that may cause certain disabling disorders of the autonomic nervous system.

Autonomic nerves regulate the body's vital automatic functions including blood pressure and heart rate control, sweating and digestion. Autonomic disorders may cause fainting, inability to sweat, constipation, dry mouth or vomiting, and can be difficult to accurately diagnose.

"This study suggests that one form of a serious neurologic disorder affecting the autonomic nerves is due to abnormal antibodies in a patient's blood," says Steven Vernino, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and the study's principal author. "We have developed an antibody test that will help physicians evaluate patients with autonomic failure.

"The test also may help physicians identify patients who will respond to immunological treatment, but further study in that area is needed," says Vernino.

The new test developed at Mayo Clinic detects antibodies that bind to an important protein on autonomic nerve cells. The majority of patients with a particularly severe form of autonomic failure have these antibodies.

While autonomic disorders are much less common than multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease, the consequences of these disorders are devastating for patients.

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