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Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features and specificities of adult male patients with NMDA receptor antibodies (NMDAr-Abs) encephalitis.
Methods: Observational study of 13 adult male patients who were diagnosed with NMDAr-Abs encephalitis at the French Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndrome Reference Center.
Results: Adult male patients frequently presented initially with a seizure (8/13, 61.5%). Seizures were partial in 5/8 patients and were followed only a few days later (median 12 days; range 2–17 days) by psychiatric or cognitive symptoms. Conversely, adult female patients rarely presented with a seizure initially (8/58, 14%, p < 0.001), and most of their seizures were generalized and were rapidly followed (median 2 days; range 1–7 days) by behavioral and psychiatric features. Additionally, in male patients the disease was rarely associated with a tumor (1/13 or 8%, a perineal schwannoma); in contrast, 41% of female patients had an associated tumor (95% of which were ovarian teratomas; p = 0.02 male vs female association with tumor). The incidences of abnormalities in ancillary tests, treatment modalities, clinical evolution, and outcome were equal for both subgroups.
Conclusion: Adult male patients who have partial seizures, normal MRI results, and no clear etiology should be tested for NMDAr-Abs to avoid any delays in treatment initiation. Adult female patients who had a seizure as the first symptom are infrequent when NMDAr-Abs encephalitis is diagnosed; additionally, their clinical pattern is different from male patients, with more generalized seizures and rapid development of behavioral and psychiatric symptoms. The differences in hormonal influence could contribute to this difference in clinical pattern.
GLOSSARY
- GTCS=
- generalized tonic-clonic seizures;
- mRS=
- modified Rankin Scale;
- NMDAr-Abs=
- NMDA receptor antibodies;
- PS=
- partial seizures
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Editorial, page 550
Supplemental data at www.neurology.org
- Received June 30, 2013.
- Accepted in final form September 20, 2013.
- © 2014 American Academy of Neurology
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