Sez6l2-antibody-associated progressive cerebellar ataxia: a differential diagnosis of atypical parkinsonism

Dear Sirs,

Recent advances in the identification of immunological causes for movement disorders have opened a new avenue to causally treat these often severely disabling diseases. Immunological processes may be related to secondary underlying disease causes or may occur without known association to such conditions. The detection of antibodies against intracellular structures or surface antigens may be helpful in the diagnostic workup although their significance with regard to disease mechanisms is controversial. Thus, the presence of an antibody may be unspecific, may serve as a biomarker indicating an underlying autoimmunological process or may directly be involved in the disease process. Complicating matters, antibody-associated neurological syndromes may occur without overt inflammatory signs, particularly in the elderly population [1].

Here, we report the second patient with rapidly progressive cerebellar ataxia and anti-Sez6l2 antibodies. We highlight additional clinical signs...