"One of the most challenging aspects of autoimmune disorders such as lupus is the way that these conditions can affect the brain, sometimes resulting in memory loss.Last year, Today's Sarah Jacoby chronicled the unnerving case of a Baltimore resident whose autoimmune disorder caused a host of psychological ailments, including gaps in her memory and hallucinations. As healthcare professionals learned, the cause of these issues was rooted in a case of autoimmune encephalitis."
"The AP's reporting focused on the case of one man who, as Neergaard and Lum write, "lost decades of 'autobiographical' memories." It notes that clinical trials of new medication are underway to address similar issues; Neergaard and Lum also describe the ways this patient has sought to cope with losing memories of time spent with family and friends."
"But correctly diagnosing the cause of these symptoms is also vitally important; a decade ago, the Mayo Clinic noted that 35% of the patients who "responded to immunotherapy for autoimmune dementia" over a seven-year period had been "initially misdiagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder." Finding a correct diagnosis is crucial, but it's only the first step in a much longer process."
Autoimmune disorders can produce neuropsychiatric effects including memory loss, hallucinations, 'lupus fog', and psychosis. Autoimmune encephalitis can underlie psychological symptoms and severe autobiographical memory loss. Clinical trials of new medications are underway to address memory impairments caused by immune-mediated brain disease. Accurate diagnosis matters because many patients who respond to immunotherapy were initially misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative disorders; about 35% met this fate in one seven-year Mayo Clinic series. Diagnosis is a critical early step, but long-term symptom control and coping strategies remain essential for patient care.
Read at InsideHook
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