Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibody encephalitis: An important cause of encephalitis in young adults. A report of two cases.

Encephalitis is a clinical syndrome which can include altered mental status, motor and sensory deficits, altered behavior including personality changes, speech and movement disorders and seizures. While the overall incidence of encephalitis is not known, it is common enough that most pediatric and adolescent medicine physicians will have seen at least one case. Peak times of risk include the newborn period and middle-to-late adolescence. 1 It is important for clinicians to have a working knowledge of the broad range of encephalitis etiologies: viral, post-viral, toxic, auto-immune, and paraneoplastic. We discuss two cases of encephalitis in young adult women with ovarian teratoma and production of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibodies.