The successful application of plasmapheresis in the treatment of a patient with opsoclonus and autoantibodies to glutamate receptor δ2

Abstract

Glutamate receptor δ2 (GluRδ2) is expressed in the neuronal postsynaptic densities at the junctions between the Purkinje cells and the parallel fibers. Recent reports have described patients with opsoclonus who possess anti-GluRδ2 antibodies. We report the case of a 53-year-old man with opsoclonus whose cerebrospinal fluid was positive for anti-GluRδ2 antibodies. Electronystagmography revealed abnormal sinusoidal eye movements, which were definitively identified as opsoclonus. The frequency and amplitude of saccadic oscillations diminished after plasmapheresis (PE). The patient’s opsoclonus was altered after PE, suggesting that anti-GluRδ2 antibodies may act on the saccade generator in the brainstem via the cerebellum and that they may be involved in the onset of opsoclonus.