Research
One of the first studies on long-term neurobehavioral outcomes in patients affected by AE will be presented by Anusha Yeshokumar, MD, during the upcoming Encephalitis Society meeting in London. This may be difficult news for some AE patients, however at times it is comforting to know that what one suffers is not unusual. The study found that […]
We are encouraged that researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in NY, NY recently published a review article, bringing together many facets of research on how antibodies and other types of immune cells are able to cross the blood-brain barrier and gain access to the brain, causing autoimmune encephalitis. They stated that these routes of […]
One of the major difficulties that many patients with AE face is that when the brain is affected, various symptoms present in different facets of human experience. These may include a person’s thoughts and behavior, emotions, speech, physical movements, memory, sleep habits, sensory experience, personality, etc. And these may even change from day to day as […]
As difficult as diagnosis and treatment are for autoimmune encephalitis, fortunately for the community of patients, families, and caregivers, rapid progress has been made within only a decade. A group of physicians in Oxford, England has published a review for the journal Neuropharmacology that summarizes the various types of AE, including a classification of syndromes, […]
Researchers in three countries have come together to publish a review article in Current Opinion in Neurology, June 2017. Issues addressed in this comprehensive publication include: challenges in diagnosis, antibody detection methods, treatment decisions, seronegative cases and the challenges in monitoring patients over time. Points of emphasis include the following: Many autoimmune encephalopathies are central […]
In many areas of medicine, treatments are increasingly becoming targeted in a way that benefits patients. This is happening in fields ranging from oncology to neurological disease. In this month’s Neurology Now, treatment for autoimmune encephalitis is being cited as one area where “precision medicine” holds promise for better and targeted treatments according to antibody […]
The Journal of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry reports on autoimmune encephalitis patients treated with immune based therapy including rituximab. Authors Dowland F, Swayne A, Bhuta S, et. al. discuss three cases and conclude, “The field of neuro-immunology has seen a plethora of newly discovered autoantibodies, yet there remain a significant number of patients, with features suggestive […]
Medpage Today reports that the FDA has approved the biologic drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Ocrelizumab is an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody targeting B cells which is the same mechanism of action as rituximab (Rituxan), which some earlier studies found to be effective against both relapsing-remitting and progressive MS. Off-label use of rituximab […]
Science Direct has published an article by authors van Sonderen, M.W.J. Schreurs , P.W. Wirtz , P.A.E. Sillevis Smitt, and M.J. Titulaer that a wide variety of clinical syndromes has been associated with antibodies to voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKCs). Six years ago, it was discovered that patients do not truly have antibodies to potassium channels, but […]
The Journal of the American Medical Association Nuerology reports the following by authors Volker Behrendt, MD1; Christos Krogias, MD1; Anke Reinacher-Schick, MD2; Ralf Gold, MD1; and Ingo Kleiter, MD1: Anti-NMDAR autoimmune encephalitis, associated with ovarian teratoma, predominantly affects young females.1 Because antibodies against subunits of the NMDAR contribute to the pathogenesis, methods targeting humoral immunity are therapeutically efficacious.2 However, some patients have an unsatisfactory outcome after high-dose corticosteroids, apheresis […]