title: Limbic encephalitis presenting as a post-partum psychiatric condition.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We describe a woman who presented with a psychiatric disorder post-partum and subsequently developed seizures and cognitive dysfunction prompting further investigation. A diagnosis of limbic encephalitis (LE) was made and antibodies to voltage-gated potassium channel complex (VGKC) detected. These antibodies are found in many non-paraneoplastic patients with LE. Although antibody-mediated conditions tend to present or relapse post-partum, VGKC-LE in the post-partum period has not been described.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical and imaging data were consistent with limbic encephalitis. High titres of anti-VGKC-complex antibodies confirmed the diagnosis of VGKC-LE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The similarities between the psychiatric symptomatology of VGKC-LE and post-partum psychiatric disorders raise the possibility that some instances of post-partum psychiatric conditions are manifestations of immune-mediated, non-paraneoplastic LE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hadassah University Hospital, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. marc@gotkine.com
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gotkine
authors.forename: Tamir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ben-Hur
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaknin-Dembinsky
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020363:Limbic Encephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult