Neuro-Immunology, a New Specialty - Classifications of Disorders

Neuro-immunology began as scientific discipline devoted to the study of the intersection of neuroscience and immunology during development, health, and disease. Due to scientific advances, neuro-immunology has also developed into a new neurologic subspecialty dedicated to understanding, diagnosing, and treating patients with immunologic disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Interest in neuro-immunology has been spurred by a new appreciation for immunopathology in degenerative disorders such as Alzheimers disease, Lewy-Body Disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and age-related macular degeneration, and the advancement of immunotherapeutics for neurologic disorders. Neuro-immunologic disorders have been classically organized by a combination of clinical, imaging, electrophysiologic, and histopathologic criteria; however, recent advances in auto-antigen discovery have identified disease-specific targets in an expanding array of nervous system disorders. As a result, physicians have gained a new perspective on the clinical presentation, immunopathology, and immunotherapy.