Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis of 11 Cases in China - Detailed Clinical, Laboratory and Imagiological Description.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a synaptic autoimmune disorder in which the auto-antibodies target NMDARs were first reported in 2007. Now, anti-NMDAR encephalitis is a widely recognized disease in the world. Our purpose was to analyze the clinical characteristics of anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients in West China Hospital in China and report the prognosis of the patients after accepting immunotherapy.

METHODS

Patients admitted to the West China Hospital who were diagnosed with anti-NMDAR encephalitis from 2013 to 2014 were retrospectively collected and their clinical features were analyzed.

RESULTS

We ultimately included 11 anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients. The median age of the 11 patients was 25 years, 46% patients were females, 27% patients were 15-18 years, and 73% patients were over 18 years. One of them was diagnosed with teratoma after discharging from hospital. The application of immunotherapy produced favorable outcomes in 67% patients included in our study.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-NMDAR encephalitis should be suspected in patients who developed a rapid change in behavior or psychosis, seizures, dyskinesia, and hypoventilation. Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is a kind of fatal but treatable disease. Timely diagnosis and treatment may yield favorable prognosis.