Autoimmune encephalitis: a case series and comprehensive review of the literature

• Published in: QJM : An International Journal of Medicine Vol. 104; no. 11; pp. 921 - 931
• Main Authors: Wingfield, T., McHugh, C., Vas, A., Richardson, A., Wilkins, E., Bonington, A., Varma, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-11-2011
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Autoantibodies; Autoantibodies - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Diseases - diagnosis; Brain Diseases - drug therapy; Brain Diseases - epidemiology; Electroencephalography; Encephalitis; Female; General aspects; Glucocorticoids - therapeutic use; Hashimoto Disease - diagnosis; Hashimoto Disease - drug therapy; Hashimoto Disease - epidemiology; Humans; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous - therapeutic use; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - isolation & purification; Plasma Exchange; Autoimmunity; Medicine; Immunopathology; Encephalitis; Nervous system diseases; Central nervous system disease; Autoimmune disease; Bibliographic review; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 1460-2725; 1460-2393; 1460-2393
• DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hcr111

Encephalitic syndromes are a common medical emergency. The importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is paramount. If initial investigations for infectious agents prove negative, other diagnoses must be considered promptly. Autoimmune encephalitides are being increasingly recognized as important (and potentially reversible) non-infectious causes of an encephalitic syndrome. We describe four patients with autoimmune encephalitis-3 auto-antibody positive, 1 auto-antibody negative-treated during the last 18 months. A comprehensive review of the literature in this expanding area will be of interest to the infectious diseases, general medical and neurology community.