Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibody limbic encephalitis

We report the case of a 57-year-old woman who developed acute psychiatric symptoms, behavioural disturbances, insomnia and dystonia resembling a catatonic state. During the course of her illness she developed hypoventilation and required monitoring in the intensive care unit. Her serum and cerebrospinal fluid showed antibodies to the NR1/NR2 heteromers of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is a severe form of autoimmune encephalitis, which has only recently been described in the published work. Most patients improve with immunosuppressive treatment. Raising awareness of this rare but increasingly reported condition is important, as it is responsive to treatment and potentially reversible.