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- Title
Brain On Fire: Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Receptor Encephalitis Associated with Ovarian Teratoma.
- Authors
MARAKA, SPYRIDOULA; BULATHSINGHALA, CHINTHAKA P.; GROVER, PRASANT
- Abstract
Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is the most common antibody-defined autoimmune neuronal disorder. It may present with psychiatric symptoms, decreased consciousness, and hypoventilation. Data Sources: A 33-year old female presented with agitation and psychotic symptoms following a flu-like illness. She was treated for a presumed psychiatric disorder before she developed seizures and respiratory failure. An extensive workup including routine blood work, brain imagining, electroencephalography, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis was unremarkable. After a prolonged hospital stay requiring multiple antiepileptic drugs and sedatives, a computerized tomography of the abdomen revealed an ovarian tumor. Immunosuppressive therapy was initiated and the tumor was resected, when anti-NMDAR encephalitis was suspected. The diagnosis was confirmed following a positive anti-NMDAR antibody. Conclusion: Anti-NMDAR encephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a diverse array of conditions. This case report emphasizes the importance of investigating such patients since proper treatment could potentially prevent neurologic complications or death.
- Publication
Connecticut Medicine, 2013, Vol 77, Issue 7, p389
- ISSN
0010-6178
- Publication type
Academic Journal