A case of autoimmune encephalitis in a patient with a solitary intracranial plasmacytoma

Intern Med. 2024 Apr 2. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.2888-23. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

A 65-year-old woman presented with fever and abnormal behavior. Magnetic resonance imaging showed swelling of the left medial temporal lobe and an intracranial extra-axial occipital tumor. While her neurological symptoms improved after the administration of corticosteroid therapy under the suspicion of autoimmune encephalitis, the occipital tumor unexpectedly shrank, and the diagnosis of a solitary plasmacytoma was confirmed by biopsy. Additional examinations revealed elevated anti-glutamate receptor antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis concurrent with an intracranial solitary plasmacytoma. Central nervous system involvement can be considered a neurological complication in patients with a solitary plasmacytoma.

Keywords: anti-glutamate receptor; autoimmune encephalitis; paraneoplastic syndromes; solitary plasmacytoma.