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NMDAR-Antibody Encephalitis: A new clinical way to identify patients

General Research

Paper published in Lancet Psychiatry may help with the accurate detection of this form of autoimmune encephalitis

3D rendering of an NMDAR-antibody encephalitis

NMDAR-antibody encephalitis is an autoantibody-mediated disease (a disease caused by a person’s own immune system reacting to proteins in the brain).

Patients typically present with psychiatric features, often before any neurological features appear. This means that sometimes patients can enter and continue down psychiatric pathways and in mental health settings. These settings are not usually optimised for the care of patients with encephalitis. For example, access to lumbar puncture is rare – an essential part of the diagnosis of any encephalitis. This can understandably delay the diagnosis of NMDAR-antibody encephalitis, leading to lags in the initiation of appropriate immune treatments. 

Read more (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences website)

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