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Psychiatric Presentation of Brain Inflammation

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Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases

Part of the book series: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Neurological Disease ((NSND))

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Abstract

Autoimmune encephalitis associated with antibodies targeting neural cell surface antigens have emerged in the past 10 years as a major cause of encephalitis. Those associated with antibodies against the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is the most frequent. This newly recognized disease is characterized by a stereotyped clinical phenotype. The clinical course usually begins in the majority of cases by psychiatric symptoms, sometimes preceded by prodromal symptoms. The psychiatric stage is usually followed by severe fluctuations in consciousness with neurologic involvement with cognitive impairment, speech impairment, movement disorders, seizures, and behavioral problems. Typically the disease affects young women, and an ovarian teratoma is frequently associated, but cases have been reported in children, in men, and in patients without tumors. The treatment consists of early immunotherapy and, if necessary, tumor removal. The outcome is good in many cases if the treatment is started early, but severe sequelae or death is possible. The management of psychiatric symptoms can be difficult.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, INSERM U 862, Université de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba Léon, Bordeaux, 33076, France

    Bruno Brochet MD

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Correspondence to Bruno Brochet MD .

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  1. Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, INSERM U 862, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Gironde, France

    Bruno Brochet

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Brochet, B. (2015). Psychiatric Presentation of Brain Inflammation. In: Brochet, B. (eds) Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases. Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Neurological Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18464-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18464-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18463-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18464-7

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