Chapter 20 Gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies: an overview

This chapter provides background information on the subject of gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies. Virtually, all gangliosides and glycoconjugates have been implicated in the past 10–12 years as being candidate antigens in instances of peripheral neuropathy in which antibody titers to one or more of these compounds may be measured. Whether antibodies that bind to glycoconjugates are of pathogenetic importance in the neuropathies with which they are associated has stirred lively debate. Other issues such as whether exogenously administered mixtures of ganglioside can cure or perhaps even cause peripheral neuropathies are also discussed in the chapter.