Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis Foundation Newsletter

The AE Alliance hosted the annual Florence Forth Race on March 3, 2018, drawing over 1100 runners and walkers. Some were AE survivors and their families from all over the nation and Canada. Cold weather did not dampen the spirits of participants as they ran, walked and cheered each other on for this fundraiser that …




Clin Schizophr Relat Psychoses. 2018 Jan;11(4):201-204. doi: 10.3371/CSRP.MCTF.071317. Epub 2017 Aug 4. Case Reports; Review




After a rare disease almost took their daughter from them, the Terris whanau are back on track – literally and figuratively.




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The Laboratory Diagnosis of Autoimmune Encephalitis

From
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
– Today, … Read More




Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Immunological studies suggest that it is a T-cell mediated autoimmune disease, although an MS-specific target antigen for autoimmunity has so far no




Objective To determine the frequency and clinical relevance of immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA, and IgM N -methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibodies in several diseases, and whether the IgG antibodies occur in disorders other than anti-NMDAR encephalitis.

Methods Evaluation of IgG, IgA, and IgM NMDAR antibodies in serum of 300 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, stroke, dementia, schizophrenia, or seronegative autoimmune encephalitis. Antibodies and their effect on cultured neurons were examined with cell-based assays and brain and live neuronal immunostaining. Retrospective analysis of the clinical diagnoses of a cohort of 1,147 patients with IgG NMDAR antibodies identified since 2005.

Results Among the 300 patients studied, IgG NMDAR antibodies were only identified in those with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and all reacted with brain and live neurons. By cell-based assay, IgA or IgM antibodies were detected in 22 of 300 patients (7%) with different diseases, but only 10 (3%) reacted with brain and 7 (2%) with live neurons. In cultured neurons, IgG but not IgA or IgM antibodies caused a decrease of synaptic and extrasynaptic NMDAR. Among the cohort of 1,147 patients with IgG NMDAR antibodies, 1,015 (88.5%) had anti-NMDAR encephalitis, 45 (3.9%) a limited form of the disease, 41 (3.6%) autoimmune post–herpes simplex encephalitis, 37 (3.2%) overlapping syndromes (anti-NMDAR encephalitis and demyelinating disease), and 9 (0.8%) atypical encephalitic syndromes; none had schizophrenia.

Conclusions IgG NMDAR antibodies are highly specific for anti-NMDAR encephalitis and cause a decrease of the levels of NMDAR. In contrast, IgA or IgM antibodies occur infrequently and nonspecifically in other diseases and do not alter the receptor levels.




When psychiatric symptoms reflect medical conditions Killian A WelchA⇑ and Alan J Carson, consultant neuropsychiatristA, consultant neuropsychiatristB ARobert Ferguson Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, UK BDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK…




Over the past 7 years, I’ve been battling, both Autoimmune Encephalitis and Epilepsy.  I’m very grateful to have received comprehensive care, including two brain surgeries, from an amazing team of neurologists at UCSF.  I’m very hopeful that what my case has enabled my doctors to discover will ultimately help others, and it’s my goal to …




Hello, my name is Madiah and I am a 21-year-old survivor of Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis. I hope you find my blog, Conquering Encephalitis, to be helpful to anyone who is also recovering from encephalitis