NEUROIMMUNOLOGY LABORATORY
SOUTHERN GENERAL HOSPITAL
USER HANDBOOK
16/02/2016
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NEUROIMMUNOLOGY LABORATORY HANDBOOK
Contents
CONTACT DETAILS
Director………………………………………………………………………………3
Laboratory Manager………..………………………………………………………3
Departmental Secretary……………………………………………………………3
Laboratory Enquiries ………………………………………………………………3
Postal Address
…………………………………………………………………3
Normal Laboratory Working Hours…………………………….…………………3
Costs…………………………………………………………………………………3
SAMPLES/REQUESTS/RESULTS
Sample Identification Requirements………………………………………………4
High Risk Samples….………………………………………………………………4
Sample Dispatch….…….…………………………………………………………..4
Packaging…………………………………………………………………………….4
Reports and Results
…………………………………………………………4
SAMPLE BOTTLES AND VOLUMES……………………………………………..5
Neuroimmunology Tests……………………………………………………………6
In House Tests………………………………………………………………………6
Referred Tests ……………………………………..…………………………...…..7
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CONTACT DETAILS
Director of Neuroimmunology Laboratory
Professor Hugh J. Willison
0141 201 2464/2529
0141 330 8384
Email h.willison@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Laboratory Manager
Ms Jan Gairns
0141 201 2468
Email GairnsJ@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
jgairns@nhs.net
Laboratory Secretary
Mrs Denise Marshall
Telephone
0141 201 2515
FAX
0141 2012469
Laboratory Enquiries
0141 201 2491/2515
Email GG-UHB.Neuroimmunology@NHS.net
Neuroimmunology.Labs@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Postal Address
Neuroimmunology Laboratory,
Department of Neurology,
Southern General Hospital,
1345 Govan Road
GLASGOW G51 4TF
Normal Laboratory Working Hours
08.30 to 17.00 Monday to Friday
There is NO out of hours service
COSTS
The Neuroimmunology Laboratory currently charges £35 per assay for sample requests from
NHS laboratories outwith Greater Glasgow and Clyde and associated NHS laboratories.
Private laboratory requests are charged at £64 per assay.
All assays are charged at the same rate.
Billing is by quarterly invoice in arrears to the hospital or institutional finance department or, if
preferred, to a named individual within the requesting department.
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SAMPLES/REQUESTS/RESULTS
We cannot process samples unless we can be sure about the patient’s identity, the test(s)
required and where to send the result.
Sample Identification Requirements
SAMPLES MUST HAVE
 patient’s full name (or proper coded identifier)
 date of birth and hospital or CHI number
 date and time of sample.
REQUEST FORMS MUST HAVE
 patient’s full name (or proper coded identifier)
 date of birth AND CHI number (if CHI unavailable, hospital number or patient’s
address)
 name of requesting hospital/laboratory
 destination for report
 name of patient’s consultant
 tests required
 date and time of sample
 DESIRABLE
 relevant clinical information
 name and contact/bleep number of requesting clinician
High Risk Samples
These include samples from patients known or thought likely to have infectious diseases eg
Hepatitis B or C, HIV infection, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and those to whom radioactive
materials have been administered therapeutically (not for investigation). The nature of the
hazard should be indicated and both the form and specimen(s) must be marked with the
yellow ‘Danger of Infection’ labels.
Sample Dispatch
Samples do not need to be sent frozen if they are clean, not haemolysed and arrive within two
days.
Local samples should be sent by hospital transport or taxi.
Samples from the UK should be sent by first class mail.
Samples from out with the UK should be sent by courier.
Packaging
Packaging must meet the requirements of relevant UN and postal regulations.
Put all specimen tubes into a secondary leak proof container; include absorbent material to
absorb any spillage.
Put the leak proof container and a request card with details of the request into an external
package strong enough to withstand postal transit.
DO NOT PUT PAPER WORK ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PACKAGE as it may be
discarded with packaging.
Reports and Results
Results are sent out by internal or royal mail.
Results are also available on Telepath, and SCI Store and via the Clinical Portal.
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SAMPLE BOTTLES AND VOLUMES
Anti Acetylcholine receptor antibodies,
AchR, ACR
5ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top), if sending by mail 1ml serum
CSF Oligoclonal Bands
1ml CSF (clear no red cells) + 5ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top),
if sending by mail 1ml serum
Anti Ganglioside antibodies (IgG and IgM)
5ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top), if sending by mail 1ml serum
Anti Myelin associated Glycoprotein antibodies (anti-MAG IgM)
5ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top), if sending by mail 1ml serum
Anti Paraneoplastic antibodies, Anti neuronal antibodies
5ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top), if sending by mail 1ml serum
Referred Assays
5-10ml sample of clotted, gel activated, blood (ochre top), if sending by mail 2 ml serum
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NEUROIMMUNOLOGY TESTS
In House Tests
Acetylcholine Receptor Antibodies
Sample-Clotted Blood or Serum
Antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor (anti-AChR) are present in a very high proportion of
patients with the neuromuscular transmission disorder, myasthenia gravis (MG).
Detection of oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid and serum
Sample Cerebrospinal fluid plus Clotted Blood or Serum
The clinical diagnosis of multiple sclerosis can be supported by analysis of cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF). In a very high proportion of patients with multiple sclerosis (>90%) the CSF contains
oligoclonal bands that are not present in the serum.
Anti-Glycolipid Antibody
Sample-Clotted Blood or Serum
Anti-glycolipid antibodies are found in a significant proportion of patients with a variety of
autoimmune peripheral neuropathies.
Anti-MAG Antibody Testing
Sample-Clotted Blood or Serum
A clinically important form of IgM paraproteinaemic neuropathy is associated with antibodies
to myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG).
Anti-Neuronal Antibody Testing
Sample-Clotted Blood or Serum
Anti-neuronal antibodies are present in the serum of patients with paraneoplastic disorders
affecting the nervous system. These disorders have a very wide range of clinical
presentations and often enter the differential diagnosis of complex neurological problems .
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Referred Tests
Antibodies to
Voltage Gated Potassium Channels (VGKC)
Voltage Gated Calcium Channels (VGCC)
Aquaporin,
Glutamic Acid decarboxylase (GAD),
Anti muscle specific kinase antibody (MuSK) ,
N-Metyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor
These assays are performed at
The Department of Immunology, Churchill Hospital, Old Road, Heddington,
OXFORD,
OX3 7JL
Antibodies to
Basal Ganglia,
Beta Interferon ( neutralising antibody)
These assays are performed at
The Neuroimmunology Laboratory, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square,
LONDON WC1N 3BS
Antibodies to Striatal Muscle
This assay is performed at
The Immunology Laboratory, Royal Sussex Hospital, Eastern Road, BRIGHTON,
East Sussex, BN2 5BE
Antibodies to Gliadin
This assay is performed at The
Immunology Laboratory, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, SHEFFIELD, S5 7AU
Antibodies to Tysabri (Natalizumab)
This assay is performed at
Barts and The London, Immunology Department, Pathology and Pharmacy Building, 2nd Floor,
80 Newark Street, Whitechapel, LONDON E1 2ES
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