Clinical analysis of MOG antibody-associated disease overlapped with
anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: a long-term retrospective study
Abstract
Abstract Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics,
radiological features, treatments, and prognosis of patients with myelin
oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated disease (MOGAD)
overlapped with NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. Methods: We
retrospectively analyzed patients who exhibited dual positivity for MOG
antibodies and NMDAR antibodies in serum/CSF from Jan 2018 to Jun 2023
Results: Ten patients with MOGAD and NMDAR encephalitis were enrolled.
The median age of initial attacks was 23 (range: 10-43) years old.
Common symptoms were cortical encephalopathies (8/10), focal
neurological deficits (4/10), as well as other presentations including
headache, fever, optic neuritis, and transverse myelitis. CSF
pleocytosis was general (9/10, median 63.9 cells/μl). Lesions on brain
MRI included brainstem (37.5%), cerebral cortex (33.3%), basal ganglia
(25.0%), hippocampus (20.8%). The average follow-up duration was 25.4
months. 10/10 patients developed more than one relapse attacks, with MOG
positivity before (10%), simultaneous (40%) or after anti-NMDAR
encephalitis (50%). Most patients (7/10) had good response to
first-line therapy, but experienced next relapse with an average
interval of 6.7 (range: 2-14) months. We conducted initial analysis of
lymphocyte subsets in these patients, which revealed CD3+ and CD4+ T
cells increased after immunosuppressants medication (p < 0.01
and p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusion: MOGAD overlapping
with NMDAR encephalitis presents a distinct clinical phenotype which
differs from either MOGAD or NMDAR encephalitis. Brainstem in
combination with cortical lesions might be warning signs for this
overlapping syndrome. Due to the high recurrent rates, we recommend
early diagnosis and timely treatment with high-efficiency
immunosuppressants at onset.