Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes.

Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes are degenerative diseases of the central or peripheral nervous system that develop in association with a systemic neoplasm without a direct invasion by tumor. The pathogenesis of this disorder has been hypothesized in the past, and now there is increasing evidence that autoimmune processes triggered by the underlying neoplasm play a major role in the pathophysiology, as documented by many reports of identification of autoantibodies that react with both the target neural tissue and the underlying neoplasm, as evidenced by the extensive application of molecular biology techniques. The presence of antibodies in serum or CSF of some patients with this disorder now accurately identifies the subgroup of the disorders related to specific neoplasms. The trend of recent studies on the pathogenesis of this disease may in the future lead to a new era to clarify the pathogenesis.