Refractory brainstem encephalitis mimicking progressive cerebral infarction: infliximab and methotrexate as a salvage immunotherapy

Abstract

Brainstem encephalitis is a rare, severe, and potentially life-threatening inflammation of the central nervous system that exhibits various treatment responses and outcomes owing to multiple etiologies [1]. However, owing to the risk of surgical biopsy of vulnerable structures such as the brainstem, the etiological evaluation of neuroinflammatory and immune-mediated brainstem lesions