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Updated: May 1, 2026

Induction and Clinical Scoring of Chronic-Relapsing Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Published on: July 4, 2007
Population-level evidence for an autoimmune etiology of epilepsy
Mei-Sing Ong1, Isaac S Kohane2, Tianxi Cai3
1Australian Institute of Health Innovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia2Children's Hospital Informatics Program at Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health Sciences and Technology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massac.
Importance:
Epilepsy is a debilitating condition, often with neither a known etiology nor an effective treatment. Autoimmune mechanisms have been increasingly identified.
Objective:
To conduct a population-level study investigating the relationship between epilepsy and several common autoimmune diseases.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
A retrospective population-based study using claims from a nationwide employer-provided health insurance plan in the United States. Participants were beneficiaries enrolled between 1999 and 2006 (N = 2 518 034).
Main Outcomes And Measures:
We examined the relationship between epilepsy and 12 autoimmune diseases: type 1 diabetes mellitus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Graves disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, Sjögren syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and celiac disease.
Results:
The risk of epilepsy was significantly heightened among patients with autoimmune diseases (odds ratio, 3.8; 95% CI, 3.6-4.0; P < .001) and was especially pronounced in children (5.2; 4.1-6.5; P < .001). Elevated risk was consistently observed across all 12 autoimmune diseases.
Conclusions And Relevance:
Epilepsy and autoimmune disease frequently co-occur; patients with either condition should undergo surveillance for the other. The potential role of autoimmunity must be given due consideration in epilepsy so that we are not overlooking a treatable cause.
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