This laboratory assay detects IgG autoantibodies against the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAA receptor). GABAA is an ionotropic chloride channel: when the neurotransmitter GABA binds to the receptor, the channel opens, chloride ions enter the neuron, the membrane hyperpolarises and neuronal activity is inhibited. This mechanism maintains the balance between excitation and inhibition in the central nervous system. Anti-GABAA receptor antibodies interfere with normal channel function, reducing synaptic inhibition and promoting neuronal hyperexcitability.
Clinically, anti-GABAA receptor encephalitis features frequent (often refractory) seizures, cognitive impairment, behavioural changes, confusion, and—on brain MRI—multifocal cortical and subcortical lesions, especially in the temporal and frontal lobes. It may occur as paraneoplastic disease (most commonly with thymoma), in non-paraneoplastic settings, or after viral infections. Onset can be acute or subacute and affects both adults and children; generalised seizures and movement disorders are more common in children, whereas neoplastic association is more frequent in adults. Measuring anti-GABAA receptor antibodies helps confirm autoimmune encephalitis and is critical for prompt therapy decisions, as this condition often responds to immunosuppressive treatment.
Serum, plasma, CSF
IFA cells
Fasting for at least 8-12 hours before sampling
Refer to the Health Service Charter to check storage conditions
+2/+8°C
This test provides the quantitative determination of total tau protein to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
This test provides the quantitative determination of tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 181 (pTau181), to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Test for the determination of human autoantibodies against NMDAR to support the diagnosis of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes with an intermediate-risk phenotype.
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