Antibodies to disulfated heparin disaccharide in the diagnosis of neuropathy

Abstract

Methods aiding in the diagnosis of certain neuropathies are disclosed, in which the titer of antibodies to a disulfated heparin disaccharide is assessed in a test sample from a subject. Also disclosed are apparatus and kits that can be used in the methods of the invention.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A kit for use in diagnosing a neuropathy in a subject, comprising an isolated or synthesized disulfated heparin disaccharide and a detection antibody that specifically binds to human IgM, wherein the detection antibody comprises a detectable label. 
     
     
         2 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the disulfated heparin disaccharide is a glucosamine-uronic acid heparin disaccharide. 
     
     
         3 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the disulfated heparin disaccharide is IdoA-GlcNS-6S. 
     
     
         4 . The kit of  claim 1 , further comprising a solid phase, wherein the disulfated heparin disaccharide is covalently bound to the solid phase. 
     
     
         5 . The kit of  claim 4 , wherein the solid phase is selected from a cuvette, beads, a macrowell plate, a microtiter plate, and a microwell ELISA plate. 
     
     
         6 . The kit of  claim 1 , further comprising a GM1 ganglioside and a second detection antibody. 
     
     
         7 . The kit of  claim 5 , wherein the GM1 ganglioside and the disulfated heparin disaccharide are bound to a solid phase. 
     
     
         8 . The kit of  claim 7 , wherein the solid phase is selected from a cuvette, beads, a macrowell plate, a microtiter plate, and a microwell ELISA plate. 
     
     
         9 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the detectable label is an enzyme, radioactive molecule, or a fluorescent agent.