Psychiatrists are often the first to be consulted in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. While this disease is rare, psychiatrists need to be aware of its relevant fundamental, clinical and therapeutic aspects. We begin by reviewing the connection between anti-NMDAR encephalitis and the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia. Next, we focus on the profile of the patient typically afflicted with this disease. Then, we tackle the limited utility of current diagnostic criteria during the early stage of the disease. After reviewing the psychiatric features, we debate the quest for finding specific psychiatric phenotypes that could facilitate early-stage diagnosis. We conclude by discussing the treatment of psychiatric symptoms and disease outcomes. As follows, this paper presents the relevance of anti-NMDAR encephalitis for psychiatrists.
Keywords: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis; Psychiatry; autoimmune encephalitis; first-episode psychosis; psychiatric.
Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an essential differential diagnosis in Psychiatry, particularly when dealing with first-episode psychosis.Psychiatrists are often the first to be consulted in patients with NMDAR encephalitis, so they need to be aware of the relevant fundamental, clinical and therapeutic aspects of this disease.