Comment on “Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis presenting as new onset refractory status epilepticus in COVID-19”

Monti and colleagues [1] described a patient who developed psychiatric symptoms followed by refractory status epilepticus caused by anti N-D-Methyl-Aspartate receptor (NMDAr) encephalitis. Despite the lack of lung involvement, the patient resulted positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recently, another case of anti-NMDAr encephalitis with prominent psychiatric symptoms during symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported by Panariello and colleagues [2]. NMDAr encephalitis represents one of the most frequent cause of autoimmune encephalitis and, in a minority of patients, it may be triggered by viral infections, particularly Herpes Simplex Virus encephalitis [3].

Source: Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy - August 12, 2020 Category: Neurology Authors: Alessandro Dinoto, Marta Cheli, Arianna Sartori, Paolo Manganotti Tags: Letter to the editor Source Type: research