Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco are claiming to have discovered a novel autoimmune disorder that keeps precious vitamin B12 from reaching our brains. The condition seems to explain some people’s previously unexplained neurological symptoms such as tremors and difficulty speaking. There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the disorder, including how commonly it actually sickens people.
The woman was enrolled into the team’s study, which used a less conventional testing method to hunt for potential autoantibodies harming the brain, known as phage display. The USCF team used phages to display a vast number of proteins produced by the human body on the phages’ surface. The phages were then exposed to the patient’s cerebrospinal fluid. As they hoped, some antibodies bonded to phages displaying certain proteins, indicating a potential autoimmune response.
The team next looked for these antibodies among other patients with unexplained neurological issues enrolled in the study, finding seven potential cases. They also found the antibodies in one-fifth of a sample of patients diagnosed with neuropsychiatric lupus , and even in 6% of a small sample of healthy people with no diagnosed neurological problems.