Anti NMDAR encephalitis masquerading as dissociative disorder - A Case report

Juhi Rachel Baluja .

Abstract


There has been a paradigm shift in the understanding and management of anti N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (Anti NMDAR) encephalitis since the time it was originally described in 2007. It is important for psychiatrists to be aware of this condition, as there is a growing body of literature which describes that it is associated with profound psychiatric disturbances. In the majority of patients, these psychiatric symptoms are the first to manifest, suggesting that mental health professionals may be the first to encounter the disorder. Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment influences the overall prognosis and long-term neurological sequelae. We report the case of an 18 year old girl who was referred to the psychiatry department for anxiety symptoms along with difficulty in walking, in the background of normal neurological evaluations and investigations. As her physical symptoms worsened, further detailed neurological evaluation was carried out, that confirmed a diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis.


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