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. 2024 Jul 15:392:578369.
doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2024.578369. Epub 2024 May 14.

Electroconvulsive therapy in N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis: A retrospective cohort and scoping review of literature

Melissa A Wright  1 , Mar Guasp  2 , Christian Lachner  3 , Gregory S Day  4 , Grace Gombolay  5 , Maarten J Titulaer  6 , Stacey L Clardy  7
Affiliations

Electroconvulsive therapy in N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis: A retrospective cohort and scoping review of literature

Melissa A Wright et al. J Neuroimmunol. .

Abstract

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDARE) have led some to pursue empiric trials of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A scoping review identified 39 patients diagnosed with NMDARE undergoing ECT. Separately, a retrospective cohort was reviewed to characterize 21 patients. Clinical improvement was attributed to ECT in 49% of patients in the scoping review and 19% of patients in the retrospective cohort; timing of immunotherapies was a confounding factor. Worsening of clinical course following ECT was reported in 28% of patients in the scoping review and 38% of patient in the retrospective review. There is currently insufficient data supporting a beneficial effect of ECT in NMDARE.

Keywords: Autoimmune encephalitis; Catatonia; Electroconvulsive therapy; N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis; Neuropsychiatric symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. PRISMA Flow Diagram for Study Selection.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram showing study selection and reasons for omission of excluded studies.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Reported Response to ECT
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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