Research
Jill Littrell’s new book, Neuroscience for Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals: Promoting Well-Being and Treating Mental Illness, presents the latest neuroscience and physiological explanations behind the major diagnostic categories of mental illness—including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and addiction—and explains the physiological bases that underlie traditional pharmaceutical treatment interventions. Of particular note in the book is cutting-edge information […]
A newly released precis provides clear diagnostic criteria for autoimmune encephalitis. This effort, lead by Dr. Domingo Escudero, Dr. Francesc Graus and Dr. Josep Dalmau, summarizes the Lancet Neurology article “A clinical approach to autoimmune encephalitis“. The Lancet Neurology article provides the first broadly accepted criteria for diagnosing autoimmune encephalitis. A previous AE Alliance blog reviewed the article and it’s connection to the first International […]
Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis: A new challenging entity for consultation-liaison psychiatrist Maccaferri et al Brain Disord Ther 2016 May; 5(2):215 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4959779/ Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is a relatively newly identified autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder that predominantly affects children and young adults. Although psychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent and frequently severe, it has mainly been reported in neurological, but […]
“Rituximab is effective and safe as a second-line immunotherapy for autoimmune limbic encephalitis, regardless of autoantibody status. Additional monthly rituximab therapy might potentiate the efficacy of rituximab,” concludes the authors of this Rituximab study published in medical journal, Neurology. Lucy Piper of News Medical, an online, open-access medical information provider has published the article”Rituximab shows second-line promise in […]
The following information was provided by Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Luca Bartolini is interviewed about his survey in Neurology on how to treat anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The goal of the survey is to better understand best practices in treating this disease. The podcast can be found at Neurology® Clinical Practice […]
The following information was provided by Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In the absence of data from clinical trials, anecdotal experience and expert opinion become the main source of knowledge on which medical decisions are made to treat anti-NMDA encephalitis. Clinical approaches and decision-making are apt to change over time […]
A clinical approach to diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis Graus F, Titulaer MJ, et al. Lancet Neurology 2016 Apr; 15(4):391-404 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066574/ Encephalitis is a severe inflammatory disorder of the brain with many possible causes and a complex differential diagnosis. Advances in autoimmune encephalitis research in the past 10 years have led to the identification of new […]
The National Health Service of England published the following review of IVIg for treatment of autoimmune encephalitis. The report was released in January 2016. “Evidence Review: Intravenous immunoglobulin for autoimmune encephalitis” Autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) is used to describe a group of disorders characterised by symptoms of limbic and extra-limbic dysfunction occurring in association with antibodies […]
Today The Lancet released an important paper from Dr. Dalmau et al., providing the first broadly accepted criteria for diagnosing autoimmune encephalitis. Included in the paper are guidelines for diagnosing anti-body negative AE, a frustratingly difficult subset of AE cases to diagnose and thus treat. Many of the paper’s authors attended the International Symposium on Autoimmune […]
The diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune encephalitis Eric Lancaster J Clin Neurol. 2016 Jan; 12(1): 1-13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712273/ Autoimmune encephalitis causes subacute deficits of memory and cognition, often followed by suppressed level of consciousness or coma. A careful history and examination may show early clues to particular autoimmune causes, such as neuromyotonia, hyperekplexia, psychosis, dystonia, or […]