id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-001808-47496o0e	Bayat, Ahmad	Anti-cytokine autoantibodies in postherpetic neuralgia	2015-10-20		.txt	text/plain	4246	213	50	Based on previous studies identifying a causative role for anti-cytokine autoantibodies in patients with opportunistic infections, we explored this possibility in PHN. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the possibility that sporadic anti-cytokine autoantibodies in some subjects may cause an autoimmune immunodeficiency syndrome leading to uncontrolled VZV reactivation, nerve damage and subsequent PHN. High levels of neutralizing anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies were also detected in patients with disseminated nontuberculous mycobacteria and other opportunistic infections, including both with localized and disseminated VZV reactivation [14, 15] . The finding that several patients each harbored single, neutralizing autoantibodies against interferon-α, GM-CSF or IL-6 suggests that anti-cytokine immunodeficiency may contribute to development of PHN. Particularly relevant was the finding of six PHN patients (one against anti-IFN-α, three against IFN-γ, one against GM-CSF, and one against IL-6) with high levels of autoantibodies greater than 100,000 LU that might have potential neutralizing activity against the target (Fig. 1) .	./cache/cord-001808-47496o0e.txt	./txt/cord-001808-47496o0e.txt