TITLE:
Neuropsychological Profile of Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis
AUTHORS:
Laura Marcos-Arribas, Justino Jiménez Almonacid, Alberto Marcos Dolado
KEYWORDS:
Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis; Ovarian Teratoma; Amnestic Syndrome; Priming; Neuropsychology
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
23,
2013
ABSTRACT: Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor
encephalitis is a life-threatening disorder that often occurs as a
paraneoplastic encephalitis and usually begins with neuropsychological or
psychiatric symptoms. We report a case of NMDA receptor encephalitis due to an
ovarian teratoma, which began with severe and progressive amnesia and
behavioral changes, reversed after surgical treatment and plasmapheresis. Using
a battery of cognitive tests, its neuropsychological profile before treatment
showed a complete
alteration of the short and long term memory of both verbal and visual
fixation, with clear improvement with cues and with intrusions, and saving
other cognitive domains, such as working, episodic and semantic memory,
executive, visuospatial, praxical thinking and language functions. These
deficits reverted to normalcy with treatment. So, we can conclude that anti-NMDA
receptor encephalitis is a rare entity that can be potentially serious
depending on early management and diagnosis. We must suspect this entity in
children or young people presenting with behavioural disturbances and crisis,
with a cognitive pattern of complete alteration in short and long term memory
improving with cues, and respecting other cognitive domains.