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Domingo Escudero, Francesc Graus, Josep Dalmau

www.neuroimmunologyBCN.org


A clinical approach to diagnosis of autoimmune
encephalitis
Graus F, Titulaer MJ, Balu R, Benseler S, Bien CG, Cellucci T, Cortese I, Dale RC, Gelfand JM,
Geschwind M, Glaser CA, Honnorat J, Hftberger R, Iizuka T, Irani SR, Lancaster E, Leypoldt F, Prss
H, Rae-Grant A, Reindl M, Rosenfeld MR, Rostsy K, Saiz A, Venkatesan A, Vincent A, Wandinger KP,
Waters P, Dalmau J.
Lancet Neurology 2016 Apr; 15(4):391-404 Position Paper


Acute encephalitis is a debilitating disorder that develops as a rapidly progressive
encephalopathy (less than 6 weeks) caused by brain inflammation.

The estimated incidence is 5-10 patients per 100000 inhabitants per year.

The most frequent recognized causes of encephalitis are infectious and thus the
existing diagnostic criteria and consensus guidelines are focused on an infectious
origin.

In the past ten years a growing number of non-infectious, mostly autoimmune,
encephalitis have been identified. These newly identified forms of autoimmune
encephalitis frequently associate with antibodies against neuronal cell-surface
or synaptic proteins. Some of them can develop with core symptoms resembling
infectious encephalitis, and also with neurological and psychiatric manifestations
without fever or CSF pleocytosis.

It is not realistic to include antibody status as part of the early diagnostic criteria of
autoimmune encephalitis in view of the fact that:

- antibody testing is not readily accessible in many centers, or it can take weeks to
obtain results
- absence of antibodies does not exclude an autoimmune origin

Moreover, response to immunotherapy as part of diagnostic criteria is not
practical because many patients with autoimmune encephalitis do not
respond to the most frequently used first line immunotherapies (steroids,
IVIg plasma exchange) or the response may take several weeks potentially
delaying the diagnosis.

Clinical facts and reported evidence suggesting that early immunotherapy
improves outcome were considered in the development of the current guidelines,
in which conventional neurological examination and standard diagnostic
tests prevail in the initial assessment. This approach should allow the initiation
of preliminary treatment while other studies and antibody tests are
processed and used to refine the diagnosis and treatment.

These guidelines should be applied with caution in children, particularly in they
are younger than 5 years.




Panel 1. Diagnostic criteria for possible autoimmune encephalitis
All three of the following:
1.- Subacute onset (less than 3 months) of working memory deficits, altered
mental status or psychiatric symptoms.
2.- At least one of the following:
- New focal CNS findings
- Seizures (new onset)
- CSF pleocytosis (more than five cells per mm3 in white cell count)
- MRI features suggestive of encephalitis
3.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes: CNS infection, septic
encephalopathy, metabolic encephalopathy, drug toxicity (including seizures by
drugs, posterior reversible encephalopathy, serotoninergic syndrome, neuroleptic
malignant syndrome, drug withdrawal), cerebrovascular disease, neoplastic
disorders, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, epileptic disroders, rheumatologic disorders
(lupus, sarcoidosis, others), Kleine-Levin, Reye syndrome (in children),
mitochondrial diseases, inborn erros metabolism (children)





Panel 2. Diagnostic criteria for definite autoimmune limbic encephalitis
All four of the following criteria:
1.- Subacute onset (less than 3 months) of working memory deficits, seizures or
psychiatric symptoms.
2.- Bilateral MRI brain abnormalities on medial temporal lobes (PET may be more
sensitive)
3.- At least one of the following:
- CSF pleocytosis (more than 5 white cells per mm3)
- EEG with epileptic or slow wave activity in temporal lobes
4.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes: Lupus, Sjgren's, Kikuchi, Behet,
glioma, herpes, syphilis, Whipple.

If one of the first three criteria is not met diagnosis of definite LE can be made
only by the detection of antibodies against cell-surface, synaptic or onconeural
proteins.

Panel 3. Diagnostic criteria for definite acute disseminated
encephalomyelitis (International Pediatric MS Study Group)
All five of the following:
1.- A first multifocal clinical CNS event of presumed inflammatory demyelinating
cause
2.- Encephalopathy that cannot be explained by fever
3.- Abnormal brain MRI:
- Diffuse, poorly demarcated large (1-2 cm) lesions in white matter
- T1 hypointense lesions in white matter in rare cases
- Deep gray matter abnormalities (thalamus, basal ganglia) can be present
4.- No new clinical or MRI findings after 3 months of symptom onset
5.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes





Panel 4. Diagnostic criteria for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (anti-
NMDAR)

Probable anti-NMDAR
All three of the following:
1.- Rapid onset (less 3 months) of at least four of the six following major groups of
symptoms:
- Abnormal (psychiatric) behaviour or cognitive dysfunction
- Speech dysfunction (pressured speed, verbal reduction, mutism)
- Movement disorder, dyskinesias, or rigidity/abnormal postures
- Decreased level of consciousness
- Autonomic dysfunction or central hypoventilation
2.- At least one of the following lab study results:
- Abnormal EEG (focal or diffuse slow, epileptic activity or extreme delta
brush pattern)
- CSF with pleocytosis or oligoclonal bands
3.- Reasonable exclusion of other disorders
Diagnosis can also be made in the presence of three of the above groups of
symptoms accompanied by a systemic teratoma

Definite anti-NMDAR
Diagnosis can be made in the presence of one or more of the six major groups of
symptoms and IgG anti-GluN1 antibodies after reasonable exclusion of other
disorders. Antibody testing should include CSF. If only serum is available,
confirmatory test should be included (live neurons or tissue
immunohistochemistry in addition to cell-based assay)

Panel 5. Diagnostic criteria for Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis
Probable: When both of the following criteria have been met:
1.- Subacute onset (less than 4 weeks)
- Decreased levels of consciousness
- Bilateral external ophthalmoplegia
- Ataxia
2.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes
Definite: Diagnosis can be made in the presence of positive IgG anti-GQ1b
antibodies even if bilateral external ophthalmoplegia is not complete or ataxia
cannot be assessed or if recovery has occurred within 12 weeks after onset




Panel 6. Diagnostic criteria for Hashimoto's encephalopathy
All six of the following:
1.- Encephalopathy with seizures, myoclonus, hallucinations or stroke-like
episodes
2.- Subclinical or mild overt thyroid disease (usually hypothyroidism)
3.- Brain MRI normal or non-specific abnormalities
4.- Presence of serum thyroid (TPO, TGB) antibodies (no disease-specific cutoff)
5.- Absence of well characterized neuronal antibodies in serum or CSF
6.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative cause





Panel 7. Criteria for autoantibody-negative but probable autoimmune
encephalitis
All four of the following:
1.- Rapid progression (less than 3 months) of working memory deficits (short-
term memory loss), altered mental status, or psychiatric symptoms
2.- Exclusion of well defined syndromes of autoimmune encephalitis (Bickestaff's
brainstem, typical limbic, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis)
3.- Absence of well characterized autoantibodies in serum and CSF, and at least
two of the following:
- MRI abnormalities suggestive of autoimmune encephalitis (excluding
some mitochondrial or metabolic causes with symmetrical patterns)
- CSF pleocytosis, CSF-specific oligoclonal bands or elevated CSF IgG index,
or both
- Brain biopsy showing inflammatory infiltrates and excluding other
disorders (eg. tumor)
4.- Reasonable exclusion of alternative causes

Clinical key points


- A substantial number of patients with autoimmune encephalitis (AE) do not
present with a well-defined syndrome but in some cases, demographic information
and some comorbidities (diarrhea, ovarian teratoma, faciobrachial dystonic
seizures) might initially suggest the underlying disorder (DPPX, NMDAR or LGI1
autoantibodies), although these features are not pathognomonic and might be
absent in some patients. In such cases, the diagnosis of definite autoimmune
encephalitis depends on the results of autoantibody tests.

- In other patients the clinical syndrome and MRI findings allow for classification
as probable or definite AE before the autoantibody status is known (limbic
encephalitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis).

- In limbic encephalitis (LE) there is a rapid development of confusion, working
memory deficit, mood changes and often seizures. The subacute memory loss is a
hallmark of the disorder but it can be overlooked easily because of the presence of
other symptoms. CSF analysis shows mild to moderate lymphocytic pleocytosis in
60-80% of patients (usually less than 100 white cells per mm3) and elevated IgG
index or oligoclonal bands in 50%. Among all the subtypes, patients with LGI1
antibodies present with a lower frequency of CSF pleocytosis (41%). In these
patients, the absence of inflammatory changes in the CSF might initially suggest a
non-inflammatory encephalopathy. MRI often shows increased signal on T2 FLAIR
in the medial aspect of the temporal lobes. LE can present with unilateral
involvement or with normal MRI and then the diagnosis requires positive
antibodies. The onconeural antibodies that more frequently occur with LE are anti-
Hu and anti-Ma2. The neuronal cell-surface antibodies more frequently involved
are LGI1, GABARb, and AMPAR. Patients with antibodies against GAD (an
intracellular antigen) may also develop limbic encephalitis.

- Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a monophasic, inflammatory
disease of the CNS that mainly occurs in children and adults younger than 40 years.
ADEM can be preceded by an acute systemic infection or vaccination. There is a
variable encephalopathy along with focal neurological deficits. The CSF usually
shows mild pleocytosis ( 50 cells/mm3). Oligoclonal bands are uncommon (less
than 7% of patients). Criteria of ADEM require absence of new clinical and MRI
findings 3 months after symptom onset. Transient detection of MOG (myelin
oligodendrocyte glycoprotein) antibodies occur in 50% of children with ADEM, but
these antibodies are not part of the criteria.

- In Susac's syndrome, a rare autoimmune vasculopathy, there is microvessel
involvement of the brain, retina, or inner ear and up to 75% of the patients develop
encephalopathy. Typical findings include branch retinal occlusions and MRI
abnormalities involving the corpus callosum and periventricular regions.

- Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is frequently recognizable on clinical grounds and is
associated with CSF IgG antibodies against the GluN1 subunit of the NMDA

receptor. In a series of 577 patients by Titulaer et al., 95% of the patients were
younger than 45 years, and 37% younger than 18 years. The ratio female:male
was 4:1. An underlying ovarian teratoma was identified in 58% of women older
than 18 years. Patients usually develop abnormal behaviour (psychosis,
delusions, hallucinations, agitation, aggression or catatonia) along with
irritability, insomnia, speech dysfunction, dyskinesias, memory deficits,
autonomic instability, and decrease of the level of consciousness. Seizures can
occur at any time during the disease, but tend to occur earlier in males. Young
children more frequently present with abnormal movement or seizures. When
the diagnostic criteria shown in Panel 4 were applied, 80% of the patients
fulfilled these criteria within the first month of symptom onset. The criteria
were fulfilled by 75% of patients without teratoma and 90% of patients with
teratoma. Antibody studies should include CSF analysis; a risk of false-negative
or false-positive diagnoses exist if only serum is used. Findings from three
other studies have suggested that serum testing is less consistent, or showed
antibodies in patients without anti-NMDAr or immune-mediated disorders.

- Analysis of CSF for the presence of anti-NMDAr antibodies is mandatory in
patients with relapsing symptoms after herpes simplex encephalitis. This
complication occurs in 20% of patients with this viral encephalitis, and manifests
with new-onset choreoathetosis (in children) or psychiatric symptoms (adults and
teenagers), a few weeks (rarely months) after the viral infection.

- Bickerstaff's encephalitis is usually preceded by an infectious event, runs a
monophasic course, and has a good outcome. In addition to symptoms of
brainstem dysfunction (pupillary, facial, bulbar), patients develop generalized limb
weakness, which overlaps with features of Guillain-Barr syndrome. CSF
pleocytosis occurs in 45% of the patients, and FLAIR brain MRI abnormalities in up
to 20%. Anti-GQ1b antibodies are highly specific for this disorder and the related
Miller-Fisher syndrome, facilitating the diagnosis in patients with incomplete,
atypical symptoms or with associated encephalopathy. The differential diagnosis
includes Listeria, enterovirus EV71, paraneoplastic or infectious brainstem
encephalitis, CLIPPERS, neurosarcoidosis, and primary CNS lymphoma.

Antibody testing


- Detection of specific autoantibodies establishes a definite diagnosis of AE,
identifies immunological subtypes of LE, and assists in the differential
diagnosis of atypical clinical cases. Therefore, antibody testing is a crucial step
in the definite diagnosis of many types of AE.

- Several concepts that apply to classic onconeural or GAD antibodies are not
applicable to antibodies against neuronal cell-surface proteins. Onconeural and
GAD antibodies target intracellular proteins and because these antibodies are
present in serum and CSF, and their epitopes are linear, they are detectable with
many techniques including ELISA, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. By
contrast, antibodies against neuronal cell-surface proteins have different
properties that should be considered for a better understanding of the most
appropriate test to use and interpretation of the results.

- Conformational antigens. Most antibodies against neuronal cell-surface
proteins recognize target epitopes only if they are expressed in their native
conformation. Techniques that meet this requirement are cell-based assays
(most clinical laboratories), immunohistochemistry of brain sections adapted
to membrane proteins (commercially available; sometimes used as a confirmatory
test) and immunohistochemistry of cultures of dissociated rodent live
hippocampal neurons (only used in research laboratories).

- Molecular precision. The NMDA receptor is a heterotetramer comprised of two
GluN1 subunits and two GluN2/3 subunits. Detection of IgG antibodies against
the GluN1 subunit is a signature of anti-NMDAr encephalitis. By contrast,
antibodies against linear epitopes of GluN2 have been reported in different
disorders, providing an uncertain clinical significance (e.g. lupus). Antibodies
considered against VGKC (voltage-gated potassium channels) do not target these
channels; they are direceted against LGI1 or CASPR2 proteins. These antibodies
have well defined syndrome associations. By contrast, antibodies named
VGKC complex antibodies that do not target LGI1 or CASPR2 are not
syndrome specific and should not be used as demonstration of an immune-
mediated pathogenesis.

- Immunoglobulin class. The antibodies associated with autoimmune encephalitis
are IgG antibodies. IgA or IgM antibodies against any of the indicated antigens have
unclear significance.

CSF Studies


The investigation of CSF antibodies is important:

1.- Most patients with AE have CSF antibodies, and relevant antibodies might be
found only in CSF. In anti-NMDAr, up to 14% of patients have antibodies in the
CSF, but not in the serum.

2.- The repertoire of antibodies in the CSF and serum can be different in the same
patient (eg, NMDAr in serum and CSF and GABARb only in serum), and in this
setting, the antibody found in CSF usually determines the clinical picture.

3.- For some disorders, like anti-NMDAR encephalitis, the titer of CSF antibodies
correlates better with the clinical course than the titer in serum.

4.- Neuronal antibody testing using serum and cell-based assays could lead to false
positive or false-negative results; this problem rarely occurs with CSF analysis.
While awaiting larger studies with autoantibodies, our recommendation is to
include both CSF and serum for neuronal antibody testing in patients with
suspected AE.


- The approach of first testing serum and subsequently testing CSF (if the
serum is found negative), should be avoided because it can delay the
diagnosis

- If serum is positive and CSF negative or if the clinical picture does not fit
with the antibody identified, the possibilities of a result unrelated to the
syndrome or a false-positive should be considered. The laboratories should be
contacted in order to reassess the samples or use confirmatory tests like brain
immunohistochemistry or cultured neurons.

- Treatment decisions during the course of the disease should rely more on
clinical assessment than on antibody titers. Although the titers might correlate
with the clinical course, this correlation is imperfect, and antibodies often remain
detectable after clinical recovery

Seronegative AE


fter excluding all well characterized syndromes of AE (with or without
autoantibodies) and other syndromes accompanied by well-defined
autoantibodies, there is still a subgroup of possible AE that remains without a final
diagnosis (panel 1). Patients in this group can be regarded as having probable AE if
they fulfill criteria of Hashimoto's encephalopathy (panel 6) or the criteria shown
in panel 7.

Patients with Hashimoto's encephalopathy are classically considered to show a
good response to steroids. The disorder is considered immune mediated despite
the unclear physiopathology and the absence of response to prednisone in the
patient of the original report. Most patients are women with a wide age range.
About 60-70% of the patients have thyroid dysfunction. Patients usually
develop seizures, myoclonus, hallucinations, and stroke-like episodes. MRI and CSF
studies are normal or with non-specific findings. Because most patients respond to
corticosteroids, the disorder has been recently re-named as steroid-responsive
encephalopathy with autoimmune thyroiditis (SREAT). Thyroid antibodies are
not specific for Hashimoto's encephalopathy because they are present in up
to 15% of healthy individuals (25% in women older than 60 years).

Other poorly defined syndromes with no antibodies can be regarded as probable
AE if they fulfill the criteria shown in panel 7.

- The absence of CSF pleocytosis does not rule out AE (60% of LGI1 encephalitis
do not have pleocytosis). Normal routine CSF studies do not imply that there is no
intrathecal IgG synthesis or an absence of CSF antibodies.

- AE can occur with normal or atypical MRI findings

- In children, several genetic disorders, mitochondrial diseases or
leukodystrophies can develop with CSF and MRI abnormalities similar to those
found in AE and might also respond to steroids.

Patients who meet criteria of probable AE but do not have well-characterized
autoantibodies (panel 7) should be investigated for new antibodies in serum and
CSF. The importance of these studies surpasses the clinical significance of
inflammatory infiltrates in a brain biopsy, which may suggest an inflammatory
process but cannot establish the autoimmune etiology.

There are several autoimmune CNS disorders that can be considered in the
differential diagnosis of AE. These are summarized in the appendix, including
Rasmussen's encephalitis, primary CNS angiitis, Morvan's syndrome and other
disorders of unclear cause like FIRES (febrile infection-related epilepsy
syndrome).

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Implications and directions for future research


This position manuscript demonstrates that it is possible to proceed through a
logical differential diagnosis of AE using criteria based on conventional clinical
neurological assessment and standard diagnostic tests (MRI, EEG and CSF studies).
Levels of evidence can be achieved early and therapies implemented quickly,
with the possibility of fine-tuning the diagnosis and treatment when antibody
results become available.

The stepwise escalation of immunotherapy, which includes first-line therapy
(steroids, IVIg, plasma exchange, or both) followed, if there is no clinical response,
by second-line therapy (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, or other), is often used in
the treatment of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and other types of AE, but rituximab is
increasingly being considered as a first-line therapy.

Not all AE need a similar approach. Patients with LE and LGI1 antibodies
appear to respond faster and better to steroids than patients with anti-
NMDAR encephalitis, yet the long term outcome is better in the last group.