Skip to main content
. 2016 Dec 31;6(2):45–52. doi: 10.14581/jer.16010

Table 1.

The various diagnostic approaches used in autoimmune encephalitis

Clues Advantages Disadvantages
Syndrome-based criteria

  • Enable early immunotherapy

  • Useful for inclusion criteria of clinical studies

  • Incorrect

  • Not helpful for differential diagnosis

  • Can lead to over-immunotherapy
Response to immunotherapy

  • Useful in retrospective case analysis

  • Many patients with AE do not respond to 1st-line immunotherapy

  • Not useful for initial decision
Clinicians’ “gut feeling” based on clinical course, MRI, and CSF test

  • Case-specific approaches

  • Requires experience

  • Incorrect
Antibody test

  • Confirmatory

  • Determines comorbidities, tumors, long-term treatment, and prognosis

  • Half of AE cases are antibody negative

  • Time and availability for antibody tests

  • False positive or asymptomatic antibodies

AE, autoimmune encephalitis