Patients with
limbic encephalitis usually present with rapidly progressive short-term memory deficits, psychiatric symptoms, and
seizures. The recent concept of
limbic encephalitis has been expanded. Especially, various types of
autoimmune limbic encephalitis are associated with
autoantibodies of intracellular or cell membrane
antigens. Sine
autoimmune limbic encephalitis is also associated with some types of
tumors, it has also an aspect of
paraneoplastic syndrome. Anti-
N-methyl-D-aspartate (
NMDA) receptor encephalitis is a new category of treatment-responsive
limbic encephalitis associated with anti-NMDAR
antibodies, which is the most frequent
autoantibody to cell membrane
antigen. The
autoantibodies are detected in the CSF and serum of young women with
ovarian teratoma, who typically develop
schizophrenia-like psychiatric symptoms. There is a highly characteristics syndrome evolving in 5 stages; the prodromal, psychotic, unresponsive, hyperkinetic, and gradual recovery phases. The hyperkinetic phase is the most prolonged and crucial. This disorder is usually severe and can be fatal, but it is potentially reversible. Although the pathogenesis remains unclear, this disorder is considered to be the
autoantibody-mediated
encephalitis. This review focuses in the recent concept of
limbic encephalitis and clinical characteristics of
anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.