Featured Article: Electroclinical Features of Seizures associated with autoimmune encephalitis

The Foundation is pleased to highlight a recent study, titled, Electroclinical Features of Seizures associated with Autoimmune Encephalitis, by Dr. C. Steriade and colleagues, and published in the journal Seizure.

Seizures, especially intractable ones, are a frequent and common feature of autoimmune encephalitis (AE). Neuronal autoantibodies are also frequently identified in patients with focal epilepsies, with or without other classic features of encephalitis. To date, many studies have focused on identifying clinical features of seizures at presentation, and other signs that are identify those patients who might benefit from autoantibody testing and rapid initiation of immunotherapy. There is, however, a dearth of studies that have looked at the distinct characteristics of seizures in patients diagnosed with AE, not only at presentation, but also throughout the illness and into the post-encephalitic / recovery period.

The study by Dr. Steriade and colleagues identified 19 patients with seizures and autoimmune encephalitis and retrospectively examined the evolution of their electroclinical features, spanning the course of their disease, to better define the electroclinical syndrome and its association with outcomes. Defining the electroclinical findings may help to identify epilepsy patients who require further testing (including screening for autoantibodies), as well as defining those patients at the greatest risk of developing epilepsy post-encephalitis.

Understanding the electroclinical syndrome is yet another tool to aid in identifying patients who may benefit from antibody testing and timely treatment of autoimmune encephalitis.

You can read the abstract here:
https://www.seizure-journal.com/article/S1059-1311(18)30305-4/fulltext