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.
© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.