GUNTUR: A 50-year-old was diagnosed with a rare condition called ‘Autoimmune Encephalitis’, in Guntur. This is the first such case reported in the area over the past 20 years, said Dr. NV Sundara Chary, HoD of Neurology Department at Guntur Government Hospital.
Autoimmune Encephalitis is the acute inflammation of brain tissue and is caused by infectious agents, usually viruses. In some cases the condition may be the result of an auto immune disorder. Sundara Chary said that neurological disorders are identified with increasing frequency but most of them are completely curable. The person who was identified with Encephalitis is suffering from the issue since October 2, 2017, he said.
Sk Kanuruddin, an accountant in a private company at Chilakaluripet, Guntur, came to the hospital complaining about retention of bladder and bowel. He had undergone treatment at various hospitals and got operated for prostate enlargement. However, his condition worsened, despite treatment, and the family took him to a godman thinking that Kanuruddin has gone mad and is under the possession of an evil spirit. The family members complained that the patient was behaving like a child.
He was speaking about past incidents and often failed to identify his children. He even misbehaved with his daughter and relatives who even beat him up. His wife said that one night Kanuruddin ate 40 guavas. The family members took him to government hospital as the last resort. The patient also suffered from sleep disturbances and used to wake up his neighbours in the middle of the night.
He also suffered peculiar spasms of trunk and limbs which gave a hint about neuropsychiatric condition than a simple psychiatric condition, the doctor said. He is also suffering from a potentially untreatable prion disease, a group of progressive neurodegenerative condition, along with Hashimoto’s encephalopathy or autoimmune thyroid disorder.
The doctors suspected that the patient is suffering from anti - LGI-1-receptor antibody encephalitis and serum, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) samples were sent for test. The tests showed the diagnosis as positive and the patient was treated with methyl prednisone IV for five days after which he became completely normal, Sundara Chary said.