Autoimmune N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis

Among patients aged ≤30 enrolled in the California Encephalitis Project, anti-NMDAR encephalitis was nearly as common as viral encephalitis.

A novel form of autoimmune encephalitis associated with N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibodies and thought to occur principally in young women with ovarian teratomas was described in the fall of 2007. The California Encephalitis Project (CEP) reported its initial findings in 2009 and has since amassed many more cases. Investigators recently reviewed 761 cases of encephalitis of uncertain etiology in individuals aged ≤30 (the age group in which most anti-NMDAR cases occur), referred to the CEP between September 2007 and February 2011.

Etiology was identified in 79 of the 761 patients: anti-NMDAR encephalitis in 32, enterovirus in 30, herpes simplex virus type 1 in 7, varicella zoster virus in 5, and West Nile virus in 5. Patients wi…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)