Testing for anti-glycolipid IgM antibodies in chronic immune-mediated demyelinating neuropathies

Antibodies to several nerve antigens have been reported in patients with chronic immune-mediated demyelinating neuropathies including chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, and IgM paraproteinemic demyelinating polyneuropathy. The association of some reactivities with specific neuropathies, such as IgM antibodies to the myelin-associated glycoprotein in neuropathy associated with IgM monoclonal gammopathy, permitted to cast some light in their pathogenetic mechanisms and introduced new useful tools in their diagnosis. Other antibodies have been variably associated with other forms of neuropathy or with neuropathy itself, casting some doubts on their diagnostic relevance in the workout of these neuropathies. This is particularly true for IgM antibodies to glycolipids, including ganglioside and sulfatides, whose possible role in immune-mediated neuropathies is still debated and will be here reviewed.