Overview
Autoimmune encephalitis covers a group of diseases in which antibodies are made against specific brain receptors, leading to loss of function and neuropsychiatric and neurological illness. When captured early, they are highly treatable by immune treatments and require a joined-up approach encompassing psychiatry, neurology, and several other disciplines.
There are challenges, in difficulties regarding the optimal treatment setting for such individuals and the preferred practice is for a neurology, neuropsychiatry MDT approach. Further barriers exist in pathways from a patient’s presentation in primary and secondary care settings, to allow for a smooth transition to a suitable environment in specialist care settings.
In this session we will update on the Royal College working group (a collaboration of disciplines and specialities including emergency medicine and older age psychiatry), which together with the Encephalitis society, and lived experience representatives is formulating education and practice recommendations tailored to the UK healthcare setting. Delegates will learn about the conditions, how to develop a clinical index of suspicion, pearls and pitfalls of antibody testing, and longer-term recovery.
Objectives
- To be able to describe the key clinical features of NMDAR- and LGI1-antibody encephalitis.
- To outline a rational approach to diagnostic testing including liaison with neurology services.
- To understand the longer-term impact of autoimmune encephalitis.
- To review medico-legal aspects and how we can improve our systems to learn from them.
Speakers
Chair: Dr David Okai, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London and Dr Adam Al-Diwani, University of Oxford, Oxford
Dr Adam Handel, Oxford Health NHS Trust, University of Oxford, Oxford
Dr Ava Easton, University of Liverpool, Liverpool and Encephalitis International
Dr Janet Grace, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
