Rare paraneoplastic syndrome of prostatic cancer: limbic encephalitis: a case report

• Main Authors: Omar Karray, Sven Tolner, Naïm Yarak, Maguy Cherfan, Mihaela Dana Cosma, Walid Sleiman, Philippe Niclot, Jean Louis Dubost, Patrick Coloby, Stéphane Bart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-07-01
• Series: Journal of Medical Case Reports
• Subjects: Prostatic neoplasms; Limbic encephalitis; GABA receptors; Seizures
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-021-02975-3

Abstract Introduction Limbic encephalitis is an autoimmune neurologic disorder, often of paraneoplastic origin, that seldom complicates prostatic tumors. The nonspecificity of symptoms makes the diagnosis sometimes difficult to establish. Prognosis is essentially determined by comorbidities and sensorineural and cognitive sequelae. Clinical case A 66-year-old Caucasian patient known to have prostatic small-cell neuroendocrine adenocarcinoma under hormonal therapy developed complex partial epileptic seizures associated with rapidly aggravating severe memory impairment. The tripod of autoimmune limbic encephalitis diagnosis was based on the clinical aspect of brain’s functional deterioration, electroencephalography aspect, and γ-aminobutyric acid type B anti-receptor antibody positivity. Clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic management as well as evolutionary risks were further analyzed. Conclusion Limbic encephalitis is an extremely rare presentation of neurologic paraneoplastic syndromes. A better knowledge of this entity would help better manage diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties and reduce the risk of possible sequelae.