Book contents
- Autoimmune Encephalitis and Related Disorders of the Nervous System
- Autoimmune Encephalitis and Related Disorders of the Nervous System
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Clinical Vignettes
- Videos
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Overview
- Section 2 Antibodies and Antigens
- Section 3 Specific Syndromes and Diseases
- Chapter 6 Limbic Encephalitis
- Chapter 7 Autoimmunity Against Proteins Associated with Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels
- Chapter 8 Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis
- Chapter 9 Seizures and Antibodies Against Surface Antigens
- Chapter 10 Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis and Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease
- Chapter 11 Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Autoimmunity
- Chapter 12 Autoimmune Cerebellar Ataxias
- Chapter 13 Autoimmune Brainstem Encephalitis
- Chapter 14 Autoimmunity Against the Inhibitory Synapsis
- Chapter 15 Anti-IgLON5 Disease
- Chapter 16 Autoimmune and Inflammatory Encephalopathies as Complications of Cancer
- Chapter 17 Deconstructing Hashimoto Encephalopathy
- Chapter 18 CNS Syndromes at the Frontier of Autoimmune Encephalitis
- Section 4 Autoimmunity in Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
- Index
- References
Chapter 13 - Autoimmune Brainstem Encephalitis
from Section 3 - Specific Syndromes and Diseases
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2022
- Autoimmune Encephalitis and Related Disorders of the Nervous System
- Autoimmune Encephalitis and Related Disorders of the Nervous System
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Clinical Vignettes
- Videos
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Overview
- Section 2 Antibodies and Antigens
- Section 3 Specific Syndromes and Diseases
- Chapter 6 Limbic Encephalitis
- Chapter 7 Autoimmunity Against Proteins Associated with Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels
- Chapter 8 Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis
- Chapter 9 Seizures and Antibodies Against Surface Antigens
- Chapter 10 Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis and Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease
- Chapter 11 Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Autoimmunity
- Chapter 12 Autoimmune Cerebellar Ataxias
- Chapter 13 Autoimmune Brainstem Encephalitis
- Chapter 14 Autoimmunity Against the Inhibitory Synapsis
- Chapter 15 Anti-IgLON5 Disease
- Chapter 16 Autoimmune and Inflammatory Encephalopathies as Complications of Cancer
- Chapter 17 Deconstructing Hashimoto Encephalopathy
- Chapter 18 CNS Syndromes at the Frontier of Autoimmune Encephalitis
- Section 4 Autoimmunity in Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
- Index
- References
Summary
Brainstem encephalitis represents around 20% of all cases of encephalitis and has unique clinical and epidemiological features. The best-characterized brainstem encephalitis include opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS), Bickerstaff encephalitis, paraneoplastic brainstem encephalitis, and chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS). The main causes of OMS are paraneoplastic, post-infectious, and idiopathic; it is likely that they share an immune-mediated pathophysiology, although neuronal antibodies only occur in a subgroup of patients with OMS and breast cancer who develop Ri antibodies. Other paraneoplastic brainstem encephalitis can associate with Ma2 and Hu antibodies. Patients with Bickerstaff encephalitis frequently develop overlapping features with Miller–Fisher syndrome (characterized by bilateral ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia). The identification of GQ1b antibodies in both disorders suggests that they are part of the same spectrum of disease that has been designated anti-GQ1b syndrome. The diagnosis of CLIPPERS is mainly based on the presence of suggestive brain MRI abnormalities. However, similar MRI lesions can occur in systemic autoimmune diseases that may affect the brainstem, particularly Behçet disease or sarcoidosis, and in primary lymphoma of the central nervous system. CLIPPERS does not have a specific biological marker.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022