Another autoimmune encephalitis? Not yet.

Over the last decade, the discovery of neurologic disorders associated with antibodies directed against extracellular CNS antigens located on cellular surfaces and synaptic epitopes has revolutionized the diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of a spectrum of conditions formerly unknown or mischaracterized. The autoimmune encephalopathies, in fact encephalitic conditions, have an impressive gamut of symptomatology and include limbic encephalitis, stiff person disorders, epilepsy, psychosis, movement abnormalities, and sleep disturbances (reviewed in reference 1). In some, but not all, the pathogenic role of the antibodies has been demonstrated. The discovery of overlap among these CNS disorders and other immune-mediated conditions, and the detection of autoimmune encephalitis following viral infection,2,3 paves the way to elucidate the etiology and pathogenesis of these illnesses. The authors thank Drs. Gilad Rosenberg and Felix Benninger for critical reading of the manuscript.