1.41 Comparison of Patients Evaluated for Pediatric Autoimmune Encephalitis With Typical and Atypical Premorbid Neuropsychiatric Development

Abstract

Patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) (ie, developmental delay, ASD, early-onset psychiatric or seizure disorders) increasingly seek evaluation of new or exacerbated symptoms concerning for autoimmune encephalitis (AE). AE diagnosis includes: 1) the presence of ≥2 of 7 neuropsychiatric domains over <3 months; 2) ≥1 objective finding of neuroinflammation; and 3) reasonable exclusion of alternative illnesses, which can be challenging in NDD patients due to symptom overlap between antineuronal autoimmunity and baseline atypical neurodevelopment.