Autoimmune limbic encephalitis causing fits, rapidly progressive confusion and hyponatraemia.
A 78-year-old woman presented with a short history of confusion and seizures and was found to be hyponatraemic. Routine investigations failed to find a cause. Magnetic resonance imaging showed encephalitic changes in the temporal lobes, and voltage-gated potassium-channel antibodies were found in her blood in high titre. Although rare, this condition is important because it may respond to immunosuppression.
Dunstan
Edmund James
EJ
West Heath Hospital, Rednal Road, West Heath, Birmingham B38 8 HR, UK. edmund.dunstan@uhb.nhs.uk
Winer
John B
JB
D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003221:Confusion; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007010:Hyponatremia; D020363:Limbic Encephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated / Q000276:immunology; D012640:Seizures
D000906:Antibodies; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated