© Copyright 2006 by the Society for Neuro-Oncology
Received January 17, 2006
Accepted May 5, 2006
Hypersomnia as presenting symptom of anti-Ma2-associated encephalitis: Case study
Iñigo Rojas-Marcos 1*,
Francesc Graus 1,
Gema Sanz 1,
Arturo Robledo 1,
Carlos Diaz-Espejo 1
1 Department of Neurology, Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Ronda Norte s/n, 21005 Huelva, Spain
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: irojasm{at}meditex.es.
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Abstract |
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We describe a patient who presented with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and was eventually diagnosed with anti-Ma2 encephalitis. Neurological examination disclosed somnolence, left palpebral ptosis, and vertical gaze paresis. A brain MRI showed high signal intensity in the hypothalamus and each hippocampus. Ma2 antibodies were found in the patient's serum, and fiberbronchoscopy disclosed a lung carcinoma. After three months of steroid treatment, the results of the patient's neurological exam became normal. We conclude that anti-Ma2 encephalitis may present with mostly isolated EDS and that it may respond to steroids despite old age and the presence of an untreated lung cancer.
Key Words:
anti-Ma2 antibodies, diencephalic encephalitis, excessive daytime sleepiness, hypersomnia, paraneoplastic syndrome
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