Clinical case of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis associated with new coronaviral infection (COVID-19)

Abstract

During the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinicians are increasingly involved in the observation of possible neurological complications due to the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Some cases of encephalitis following COVID‐19 pandemic have been reported in literature that can mean possible damage to the central nervous system related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Early on, this was thought to be due to the direct effects of the virus itself, but the possibility of immune system mechanisms being implicated was gradually raised in scientific literature. The reports of anti‐NMDA receptor encephalitis among patients with COVID‐19 at different ages may be signs of this condition. We report the case of 16-year teenager with concomitant Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (Anti-NMDAR) encephalitis and COVID‐19. This clinical case brings arguments on the possible relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and autoimmune encephalitis.