Assessing the role of a tissue-based assay in the diagnostic algorithm of autoimmune encephalitis

Tissue-based assay (TBA) is a widely-used method to detect neural autoantibodies, but the diagnostic accuracy for autoimmune encephalitis (AE) has not yet been adequately measured. We retrospectively evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of an indirect immunofluorescence TBA (IIF-TBA) in 159 patients with suspected AE. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were collected and tested from December 2012 to September 2020. In the paired sample analysis, serum testing showed higher sensitivity than CSF, while the latter had higher specificity. Based on these results, we clarify the advantages of using a TBA as the principal screening method for patients with suspected AE.