Psychiatrists play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and treatment of AE
April 5, 2019
Psychiatrists play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and treatment of AE. As psychiatric symptoms often dominate the symptoms that occur at onset of this disease, patients may present initially to a psychiatrist who are tasked with identifying abnormal features of psychosis presentations, including alterations in mental status, seizures, and dysautonomia, which may prompt consideration of AE and consultation with a neurologist. Furthermore, for patients with suspected AE undergoing immunotherapy, psychiatric symptoms are frequently ongoing and may require symptomatic pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic symptoms.
The Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance is dedicated to raising awareness of AE and recognizes the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of these patients, which includes psychiatrists in addition to neurologists and rheumatologists.
The AE Alliance has compiled a list of scientific articles in collaboration with Dr. Mooneyham (Psychiatrist at Duke Health/Autoimmune Brain Diseases) that may be of specific interest to psychiatrists, and we invite you to join us on this mission to increase awareness of AE and to improve the care provided and outcomes for individuals with this disease. Please visit www.aealliance.org/psychiatry for more information.
