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The appearance of antibodies directed against an individual's own cells (autoimmunity) has been observed to be aging-related phenomenon commonly involving (in the human) such organs as the thyroid, adrenal, and the lining epithelial cells of the stomach. The present report demonstrates that over time there is also an increasing prevalence of autoantibodies against neurons of the brain. Moreover, the intensity with which these antibodies bind to neurons also appears to increase with advancing age. There seems to be considerable variation between individuals as to which sites in the brain these antibodies bind to neurons, but the earliest site of binding seems most often to be the occipital lobe (visual cortex). Various theories as to how these antibodies might originate are presented in the discussion.
Ingram et al. (Tue,) studied this question.