Antibody testing as a diagnostic tool in autonomic disorders.

Some forms of peripheral autonomic dysfunction (especially enteric neuropathy and subacute panautonomic failure) occur as autoimmune phenomena either in isolation or in the context of cancer. Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy is an example of a severe, but potentially treatable, antibody-mediated form of autonomic failure. Diagnostic evaluation of autonomic disorders can be supplemented by testing for paraneoplastic antibodies and antibodies against membrane receptors. The diagnostic antibodies most commonly associated with dysautonomia are paraneoplastic antibodies (anti-Hu and CRMP-5) and ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies.