Autoimmune Encephalitis: Pathophysiology and Imaging Review of an Overlooked Diagnosis

Authors

Brandon Kelley, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Suresh C. Patel, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Horia L. Marin, Henry Ford HealthFollow
John Corrigan, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Panayiotis Mitsias, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Brent Griffith, Henry Ford HealthFollow

Recommended Citation

Kelley BP, Patel SC, Marin HL, Corrigan JJ, Mitsias PD, and Griffith B. Autoimmune Encephalitis: Pathophysiology and Imaging Review of an Overlooked Diagnosis. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2024; 45(12):S55-s63.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2024

Publication Title

Am J Neuroradiol

Abstract

Autoimmune-encephalitis is a relatively new category of immune-mediated disease involving the central nervous system that demonstrates a widely variable spectrum of clinical presentations, ranging from the relatively mild or insidious onset of cognitive impairment to more complex forms of encephalopathy with refractory seizure. Due to its diverse clinical features, which can mimic a variety of other pathologic processes, autoimmune encephalitis presents a diagnostic challenge to clinicians. Imaging findings in patients with these disorders can also be quite variable, but recognizing characteristic findings with limbic structures suggestive of autoimmune encephalitis can be a key step in alerting clinicians to the potential diagnosis and ensuing a prompt and appropriate clinical work-up. In this article, we review antibody-mediated encephalitis and its various subtypes with a specific emphasis on the role of neuroimaging in the diagnostic work-up.

PubMed ID

39653432

Volume

45

Issue

12

First Page

S55

Last Page

S63