The Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis Foundation Newsletter

Have you ever wondered whether patients diagnosed with NMDAre or other related forms of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) may have a genetic predisposition to AE? A few months ago, we were contacted by a research group from Stanford University in California who is investigating this question. They have now obtained all the necessary approvals to begin recruiting patients and samples for the study, known as IGNITE. Below you will find all the information you will need to find out if you are eligible to participate, and what is required from you. ​We encourage you to participate if you meet the eligibility criteria, as attaining large sample sizes is key to genetic studies. We are grateful to Dr. Emmanuel Mignot and Dr. Sergio Muñiz-Castrillo of the Stanford Centre for Sleep Sciences and Medicine and their team for undertaking this important investigation.

The objective of this study was to describe neuropsychological functioning and associated medical features in pediatric patients with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDARE). Retrospective data were collected from electronic medical records and neuropsychological reports of 15 children and…

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis presents commonly with psychiatric symptoms. One cohort of these patients reported that antipsychotic administration led to neuroleptic intolerance (NI) in 19% of them, which was preventable by a prompt encephalitis diagnosis.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein immunoglobulin G (MOG-IgG) has been considered a diagnostic marker for patients with demyelinating disease, termed “MOG-IgG associated disorder” (MOGAD).

Diseases that are triggered by autoantibodies against brain cell targets are a growing
area of research in neurology and psychiatry, since immunotherapy can be an effective
treatment for patients. To date, most of the autoantibodies that have been discovered that are associated with these brain…

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Neurology, compares the cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of patients with those of schizophrenia and concl…