Anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis presenting as rapidly progressive non-convulsive status epilepticus.
We report a 68-year-old woman who developed refractory non-convulsive generalized status epilepticus secondary to anti-Hu antibodies, detected by immunofluorescence and confirmed by Western immunoblotting. The patient presented with rapidly evolving impairment in consciousness and electroencephalographic evidence of lateralized pseudoperiodic sharp-wave discharges. Ataxia and sensory neuropathy developed within the first two weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a very rapidly progressive non-convulsive status epilepticus of paraneoplastic origin. Serum anti-Hu antibodies deserve to be considered among the investigations required in the evaluation of rapidly progressive epileptic syndromes even when little or no imaging abnormalities are found.
Espay
Alberto J
AJ
The Neuroscience Institute, 4503 Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0525, USA. Alberto.espay@uc.edu
Kumar
Vijay
V
Sarpel
Günseli
G
D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D051959:ELAV Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020363:Limbic Encephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012907:Smoking / Q000473:pathology; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*
D051959:ELAV Proteins