Isolated hemidystonia associated with NMDA receptor antibodies.

Movement disorders may result from autoimmune damage of the central nervous system. Examples include Sydenham´s chorea and paraneoplastic encephalitis. Recently Dalmau et al identified a new type of encephalitis, mostly in young women and children, presenting with dyskinesias, psychiatric disturbances, autonomic instability and seizures1, 2. There is increasing evidence that this disorder is mediated by circulating antibodies against NR1/NR2 heteromers of the N-methyl-D-aspartate-glutamic-receptors(NMDAR)2,3. Exceptionally, patients with NMDAR encephalitis may not develop the full spectrum of symptoms. Here we report a patient with isolated subacute hemidystonia associated with NMDAR antibodies.