Registry for people with immune-based brain and nerve diseases

This study is building a registry — essentially a research database — of patients with suspected autoimmune brain and nerve diseases. Researchers believe that many people with unexplained brain symptoms, seizures, or psychiatric symptoms may actually have treatable immune-based diseases where the body mistakenly attacks nerve cells. By collecting medical information and a small sample of spinal fluid from consenting patients, this registry aims to help doctors recognize and treat these conditions more effectively.

Over the past 15 years, doctors have discovered that many people previously thought to have untreatable neurological conditions actually have autoimmune diseases — where antibodies attack the brain — that can be treated or even cured. However, the field is still young, and many cases go unrecognized, especially rare forms and patients who test negative for known antibodies. This registry exists to gather information that will help researchers understand these diseases better and develop new diagnostic tools and treatments.