"Clinical presentation "
"Pathology "
"Treatment and prognosis "
"Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an autoimmune encephalitis due to antibodies against GluN1 subunit of the NMDAR 18. These antibodies result in marked reduction of cell-surface NMDAR and NMDAR clusters in postsynaptic dendrites 1. An underlying tumour is detected in approximately 40-50% of patients, mostly teratomas."
"FDG-PET may show either hyper- or hypo-metabolism in the affected region depending on the time of presentation and severity of neurological deficits. Anomalies may be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. Patterns of involvement are variable but can affect the cortex in any lobe, especially the temporal region 3. Hypometabolism in the medial occipital lobes has been described as a useful differentiator between NMDAR antibody encephalitis and other autoimmune encephalitides 7."
"NMDAR antibody encephalitis was first described in 2007 by Joseph Dalmau and colleagues in a seminal case series 16. An autobiography, with subsequent film adaptation, titled "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness" by Susannah Cahalan describes her personal experience with the disease 4."
Expected headings
"Clinical presentation "
"Pathology "
"Markers"
"Associations"
"Treatment and prognosis "
"Young patients are most commonly, including paediatric patients which may account for approximately one-third of cases 15. There is a female-to-male ratio of 4:1 1,3,15. It is one of the most common autoimmune encephalitides overall, along with anti-LGI1 encephalitis 12."
"There is an estimated 4% reported mortality for anti-NMDAR encephalitis, mainly from respiratory or cardiac complications during intensive care stay 1. Early diagnosis and treatment have been shown to improve outcomes and markedly reduce the number of relapses."