Wait and see: a 5 year history of 'recurrent dementia'

BMJ Case Rep. 2014 Nov 19:2014:bcr2014205991. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2014-205991.

Abstract

Rapid evolving cognitive impairment can be the onset of either a progressive or a treatable dementia. We describe a case of a man in whom the clinical and laboratory presentation suggested a diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which subsequently turned into a diagnosis of voltage-gated potassium channel complex antibodies limbic encephalitis. The natural history and an increased knowledge of limbic encephalitis and the related antibodies led us to the correct diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Autoantibodies / blood*
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Cognition Disorders / etiology
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Electroencephalography
  • Humans
  • Limbic Encephalitis / blood
  • Limbic Encephalitis / complications
  • Limbic Encephalitis / diagnosis*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated / immunology*

Substances

  • Autoantibodies
  • Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated