BackgroundAnti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune disease that was identified in 2007, and manifests in a stepwise manner with psychiatric, neurological and autonomic symptoms. The disease is caused by autoantibodies against NMDA receptors. It can have a paraneoplastic origin, mainly secondary to ovarian teratomas, but it can also be unrelated to the tumor. This disease can affect both sexes and all ages.Case presentationHere, we present a case of a 15 year-old female adolescent with first-episode psychosis with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis not related to tumor, which manifested with delusion, hallucinations, panic attacks, agitation, and neurological symptoms, and later with autonomic instability. She was treated with immunotherapy and psychiatric medication resulting in improvement of her main psychiatric and neurological symptoms.ConclusionOur main objective in presenting this case is to alert clinicians to this challenging and recent disease that has a clinical presentation that might resemble a functional psychiatric condition and can be underdiagnosed in the context of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Journalist:Aren't you afraid of not feeling human after the implantation of the deep brain stimulation electrodes to treat your resistant depression? Patient: When I was suffering from treatment-resistant depression I was not feeling human! (A patient of Dr. Helen Mayberg treated with Deep Brain Stimulation).
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