MD Alexander Whitman
When encephalitis presents as psychosis, seizures, memory loss, movement disorders, or rapidly progressive neurological decline, the underlying disease may not be infectious or degenerative-it may be autoimmune.Autoimmune Encephalitis: A Neuroimmunological Perspective examines the disease from its immunological foundations to contemporary diagnosis and treatment. It integrates neuroimmunology, clinical neurology, neuroinflammation, autoantibody biology, diagnostic medicine, and immunotherapy into a unified clinical framework.The book covers the major neuronal surface and intracellular antibody syndromes, including anti-NMDA receptor, LGI1, AMPA receptor, GABA receptor, DPPX, IgLON5, GFAP, and MOG-associated disorders. It addresses the diverse clinical expression of autoimmune encephalitis, including cognitive and psychiatric syndromes, seizures and status epilepticus, movement disorders, sleep abnormalities, dysautonomia, and neurocritical illness.Particular emphasis is placed on clinical recognition, diagnostic criteria, MRI and EEG findings, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, autoantibody testing, biomarker interpretation, differential diagnosis, and malignancy evaluation. Therapeutic chapters examine corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, plasma exchange, B-cell depletion, cytotoxic immunosuppression, targeted biologics, refractory disease, relapse prevention, and tumor-directed management.The book also examines prognosis, rehabilitation, longitudinal monitoring, and the emerging transition toward precision neuroimmunology through novel biomarkers, single-cell and spatial technologies, multiomics, artificial intelligence, and next-generation therapeutic targets.Designed for neurologists, neuroimmunologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, residents, fellows, and other medical professionals, this volume provides a rigorous and clinically relevant reference for understanding the pathogenesis, clinical phenotypes, diagnosis, and therapeutic management of autoimmune encephalitis.A focused reference for a rapidly advancing field of modern neuroimmunology.
