Limbic encephalitis – a report of four cases

Żanna Pastuszak; Adam Stępień; Kazimierz Tomczykiewicz; Renata Piusińska-Macoch; Joanna Kordowska; Dariusz Galbarczyk; Jarosław Świstak

doi:10.5114/ceji.2017.69365

eISSN: 1644-4124
ISSN: 1426-3912

Central European Journal of Immunology

Current issue Archive Manuscripts accepted About the journal Special Issues Editorial board Abstracting and indexing Subscription Contact Instructions for authors Publication charge Ethical standards and procedures

Editorial System

Submit your Manuscript

2/2017
vol. 42

Send email

Copy url:

abstract:

Case report

Limbic encephalitis – a report of four cases

Żanna Pastuszak

,

Adam Stępień

,

Kazimierz Tomczykiewicz

,

Renata Piusińska-Macoch

,

Joanna Kordowska

,

Dariusz Galbarczyk

,

Jarosław Świstak

(Cent Eur J Immunol 2017; 42 (2): 213-217)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/ceji.2017.69365

Online publish date: 2017/08/08

View full text Get citation

PlumX metrics:

Usually limbic encephalitis (LE) is a paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome. LE symptoms can precede cancer even by a few years. Almost 50% of LE cases are connected with small cell lung carcinoma. Testis and breast cancers, granulomatous disease, thymoma, and teratomas are also often connected with LE. Other cases have infectious and autoimmunological aetiology. In LE limbic system dysfunction is observed, and it is accompanied by cerebellum and brain stem abnormalities as well as polyneuropathy. Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is sometimes a part of larger syndrome in which brain stem and spinal cord are involved in an inflammatory process called paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis. The main LE symptoms are: impairment of cognitive functions with subacute beginning, partial and generalised seizures, mental distress, disturbances of consciousness, and limb paresis. In MRI study hyperintensive lesions in the medial part of the temporal lobes in T2 and FLAIR sequences are present. Sharp and slow waves in electroencephalography in the temporal area are also frequent. In cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis, elevation of protein level, intensification of immunoglobulin synthesis, and oligoclonal bands can be detected. The majority of patients with paraneoplastic LE have onconeural antibodies in the blood. The presented study is a description of the clinical course of the disease in four patients diagnosed with LE.

keywords:

Limbic encephalitis – a report of four cases

Żanna Pastuszak , Adam Stępień , Kazimierz Tomczykiewicz , Renata Piusińska-Macoch , Joanna Kordowska , Dariusz Galbarczyk , Jarosław Świstak

limbic encephalitis, onconeural antibodies, paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes, tumour

Żanna Pastuszak

,

Adam Stępień

,

Kazimierz Tomczykiewicz

,

Renata Piusińska-Macoch

,

Joanna Kordowska

,

Dariusz Galbarczyk

,

Jarosław Świstak