Autoimmune encephalitis

• Inflammation of the brain secondary to an immune response triggered by the body itself.
• Autoimmune encephalitis refers to a group of conditions that occur when the body's  mistakenly attacks healthy brain, leading to inflammation of the brain.

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lymphocytic encephalitis

Causes

• Rasmussen encephalitis
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Behcet's disease
• Hashimoto's encephalopathy
• Autoimmune limbic encephalitis
• Sydenham's chorea
• PANS or PANDAS

Signs and symptoms

People with autoimmune encephalitis may have various neurologic and/or psychiatric symptoms. Neurologic symptoms may include impaired memory and cognition, abnormal movements, and/or problems with balance, speech, or vision.

Psychiatric symptoms

• Psychiatric symptoms may include psychosis, aggression, inappropriate sexual behaviors, panic attacks, compulsive behaviors, euphoria or fear. Symptoms may fluctuate, but often progress over days to a few weeks.
• Symptoms can progress to loss of consciousness or even coma.
• Autoimmune encephalitis may be associated with  to  on the surface of nerve cells, or within nerve cells. Some of these proteins are involved in passing signals between nerve cells.
• In some cases it occurs in association with  (a paraneoplastic syndrome).

Autoimmune encephalitis generally occurs sporadically, in people with no of the condition.

• ==Treatment==
• Treatment may involve intravenous immunosuppressive therapy, and  removal when necessary.
• Early treatment decreases the likelihood for long-term complications, speeds recovery, and reduces the risk of recurrence (relapse). If not treated, the condition can lead to progressive neurologic deterioration and loss of life.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis can be made when all three of the following criteria have been met:

1. . Subacute onset (rapid progression of less than 3 months) of working memory deficits (short-term memory loss), altered mental status, or psychiatric symptoms.
2. . At least one of the following:

• New focal  findings
• not explained by a previously known seizure disorder
• CSF pleocytosis ( count of more than five  per mm3)
• features suggestive of encephalitis

1. . Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes

Autoimmune encephalitis Resources
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