Autoimmune encephalitis data Northeas Brazil

We performed a retrospective clinical analysis of patients with antibodies against neuronal surface antigens. The study was conducted in a single city in Northeast Brazil from 2014 to 2017. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies were evaluated for inflammatory signs. Clinical data was compared between patients with and without inflammatory changes. A total of 13 patients with AE were evaluated. The median age at presentation was 17 years (range 4–75 years). Clinical manifestations included acute confusion, memory loss, and behavioral changes suggesting autoimmune encephalitis (AE) in all patients; and faciobrachial dystonic seizures (FBDS) in two patients (15%). We found signs of inflammation in six patients (46.1%), CSF pleocytosis in five and MRI findings suggestive of inflammation in three. There were no significant differences in age at presentation, time to diagnosis and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at the last visit between patients with and without inflammatory changes. Most patients showed partial or complete response to immunotherapy and nine (69%) achieved mRS scores ≤2.