Thought my child was "possessed" because he was crying and laughing alone, went to the doctor and found out he had autoimmune encephalitis.

On March 21, information from Gia Dinh People's Hospital said that the unit had just received and treated a 14-year-old girl diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis with positive NMDA (N-methyl –D-aspartate) antibodies. This is a rare disease in children and is easily overlooked or misdiagnosed as mental disorders.

Baby T showed strange symptoms, talking and laughing alone at night and was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis.

Previously, on February 22, the family took baby NMT, born in 2011, residing in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, to the Pediatrics Department for treatment in a state of auditory hallucinations, insomnia, cognitive and language disorders.

According to the patient's mother, 5 days ago, T suddenly fainted in class, then he regained consciousness and went about his daily activities normally. However, he had unusual gestures and actions such as crying, laughing at night, and speaking uncontrollably. T even said he heard someone's voice in his ear.

Thinking that their child was "possessed by a ghost", T's family planned to invite a shaman to their home to perform a ritual. However, after searching the internet for information about T's strange symptoms, the family decided to take the child to Gia Dinh People's Hospital for treatment.

At the hospital, through examination and testing, baby T was found to have disorientation about time, space and the ability to perform simple calculations, language disorder accompanied by sleep disorder and auditory hallucinations.

Paraclinical results did not detect brain parenchymal lesions on MRI, but there was an increase in mononuclear leukocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid with positive anti-NMDA receptor antibodies - an important marker in determining autoimmune encephalitis.

Baby T's health has stabilized after treatment at the hospital.

Baby T was treated with high-dose Methylprednisolone and gradually reduced the dose according to the regimen. After more than 2 weeks of active and comprehensive treatment under the coordination of the Neurology and Pediatrics departments at Gia Dinh People's Hospital, baby T's condition improved. On March 11, the baby was discharged home.

On the morning of March 18, baby T returned to the Pediatrics Department for a follow-up appointment. The results showed that the baby's cognitive and communication abilities had gradually improved. The baby's mother said that the baby slept well at night and no longer talked to himself. These signs showed that baby T's recovery was starting to show results as the treatment regimen for autoimmune encephalitis.

According to Gia Dinh Hospital, autoimmune encephalitis is a rare, serious neurological disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks healthy nerve cells, causing brain inflammation. The disease often begins with psychiatric symptoms such as auditory hallucinations, delusions, anxiety, or behavioral changes that many people mistake for signs of schizophrenia or other psychological disorders.

Dr. Vo Van Tan, Head of the Department of Neurology, Gia Dinh People's Hospital, shared that autoimmune encephalitis is a disease with complex developments and the potential to affect life if not treated promptly.

The disease is common in young women and is easily confused with mental disorders, leading to ineffective treatment and prolonged treatment time. In addition, many cases are mistaken and will seek out counter-medical treatment methods for this disease, which will delay the treatment regimen later on."

Currently, about 30% - 50% of cases of autoimmune encephalitis have normal brain MRI results like the case of baby T.

Therefore, a normal MRI in the first week of illness cannot rule out the diagnosis. When the child has acute onset neurological manifestations

This is extremely important because the prognosis of the disease is better if it is detected and treated early. Therefore, when seeing children with abnormal neurological manifestations such as mental disorders, cognitive disorders, behavioral disorders or sleep disorders, parents need to take their children to specialized medical facilities for timely examination and treatment.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tuong-con-bi-ma-nhap-vi-khoc-cuoi-mot-minh-di-kham-phat-hien-viem-nao-tu-mien-192250321155856581.htm