Help explaining this medical paragraph please

[bulla]

I'm hoping that someone can help me please.

I'm reading an article called "Paraneoplastic syndromes affecting the nervous system" and I'm having trouble understanding a few sentences.

I myself was diagnosed with paraneo. limbic encephaltis years ago now (some of which have gotten worse with time) and am left with many serious residual problems and want to find the basis of them to see if there's a diagnosis that's been missed given that it's so rare in Australia. I do have CNS damage because I suffer chronic pain that they have said is CNS damage (burning all over my body) I've read of others with my diagnosis of limbic enceph. that recover quite well.

In the article (that I was able to get from the local hospital) it says

"In other neurologic disorders, particularly those involving the CNS treatment of the cancer has little or no effect on the paraneoplastic syndromes. In some instances, even after years of remission of the underlying cancer, antineuronal antibody titers remain elevated. In most patients with CNS paraneoplastic syndromes, the neurologic symptoms do not subjstantially progress after the successful treatment of the cancer, but the meaning of this is unclear because paraneoplastic syndromes usually stabilize after several months even when the cancer is untreated"

This phrase seems to fit me because although my memory has improved significantly with the treatment (chemotherapy etc) all the other problems are still there and some are even worse. Things like horrendous fatigue, chronic hunger & thirst, taste & smell problems, constant need to urinate etc etc

I don't know what "antineuronal antibody titers remain elevated" means - I know from googling it that it's an "anitibody that reacts with nerve cells or never endings" but I don't know what this means in the sentence.

What are the side effects of the elevation?
Could it be related to the symptoms that I have mentioned above? (including the CNS pain)
If they are elevated is it possible to try treatment to reduce the levels?


Finally, what does the paragraph mean in general for someone like me?

Thanks doctors - I'd appreciate ANY help you can give me ..... anything.

bulla

---------------

In case it helps this is the abstract of the article as it appears in Pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16769417

[MG (Admin)]

I don't know what "antineuronal antibody titers remain elevated" means - I know from googling it that it's an "anitibody that reacts with nerve cells or never endings" but I don't know what this means in the sentence.

The antibodies (Ab's) you mention are what we think causes the problem. The theory is that the body tries to destroy the cancer by producing Abs which sometimes "accidentally" attack parts of the brain which cause the neurological symptoms. The titer is a measure of the level in the blood....so elevated titers mean that the Ab's are still present at high levels in the blood.

hope that helps.

[bulla]

The titer is a measure of the level in the blood....so elevated titers mean that the Ab's are still present at high levels in the blood.

hope that helps.

Thanks for your reply ..... but can you tell me

- if it's possible to measure these in the blood
- if it's possible to do something so that the "high levels" go back down to normal?

And IF it is possible to get them back down "to normal" then does that have an effect on my health - will my health improve?

Thanks VERY much. I'm going to my doctor less than 17 hours time so I'd love to know this before I go ...... hope you can help....

[MG (Admin)]

They can be measured with a blood test.
When the disease is active, the disease can sometimes be improved by removing the antibodies by a process called plasmapharesis or plasma exchange. This is only for the active stage of the disease and is not usually helpful later on when the symptoms are caused by "old" damage rather than any new processes.

hope that helps

[bulla]

Thanks doctor. I appreciate you help - very much.