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Hänsel M, Schmitz-Peiffer H, Hähner A, Reichmann H, Schneider H. Olfactory dysfunction after autoimmune encephalitis depending on the antibody type and limbic MRI pathologies. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1225975. [PMID: 37693764 PMCID: PMC10486887 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1225975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Patients' olfactory function after autoimmune encephalitis (AE) involving limbic structures may be impaired. This study aimed to characterize olfactory function in patients after autoimmune encephalitides. Methods A case-control study was performed including 11 AE patients with antibodies against NMDAR (n = 4), GAD (n = 3), VGKC (n = 3) and antibody-negative AE (n = 1) and a control group of 12 patients with pneumococcal meningo-encephalitis (PC). In subgroup analyses, AE patients with and without NMDAR-antibodies were compared. Olfactory function was assessed using the Sniffin Sticks test and the resulting TDI-score (threshold, discrimination, identification). Involvement of limbic structures was evaluated on imaging data (MRI). Statistical analyses were performed to test for correlations of TDI-score and MRI results. Results The overall olfactory function of the AE-group and the PC-group was comparable (mean TDI 32.0 [CI 27.3-36.7], 32.3 [CI 28.5-36.0)]. The proportions of hyposmic patients were similar compared to the general population. However, AE patients of the non-NMDAR group had significantly lower TDI-scores (28.9 ± 6,8) than NMDAR patients (37.4 ± 3.5) (p = 0.046) and a significantly lower discrimination capability than the NMDAR patients (9.9 ± 2.0 vs. 14.5 ± 0.6) (p = 0.002). The non-NMDAR patients had significantly more limbic MRI pathologies (6/7) compared to the NMDAR patients (0/4) (p = 0.015). Furthermore, a correlation between limbic MRI pathologies and worse capability of smelling discrimination was found (p = 0.016, r = -0.704, n = 11). Conclusion Our results indicate that patients with NMDAR autoimmune encephalitis have normal long term olfactory function. However, patients with non-NMDAR autoimmune encephalitis appear to have a persistently impaired olfactory function, probably mediated by encephalitic damage to limbic structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hänsel
- Department of Neurology, University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine, GZO – Zurich Regional Health Center, Wetzikon, Switzerland
| | | | - Antje Hähner
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical Faculty Carl-Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Heinz Reichmann
- Department of Neurology, University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hauke Schneider
- Department of Neurology, University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Augsburg University Hospital, Augsburg, Germany
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Geran R, Uecker FC, Prüss H, Haeusler KG, Paul F, Ruprecht K, Harms L, Schmidt FA. Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction in Patients With Autoimmune Encephalitis. Front Neurol 2019; 10:480. [PMID: 31156532 PMCID: PMC6528690 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: To test the hypothesis that olfactory (OF) and gustatory function (GF) is disturbed in patients with autoimmune encephalitides (AE). Methods: The orthonasal OF was tested in 32 patients with AE and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) with the standardized Threshold Discrimination Identification (TDI) score. This validated olfactory testing method yields individual scores for olfactory threshold (T), odor discrimination (D), and identification (I), along with a composite TDI score. The GF was determined by the Taste Strip Test (TST). Results: Overall, 24/32 (75%) of patients with AE, but none of 32 HC (p < 0.001) had olfactory dysfunction in TDI testing. The results of the threshold, discrimination and identification subtests were significantly reduced in patients with AE compared to HC (all p < 0.001). Assessed by TST, 5/19 (26.3%) of patients with AE, but none of 19 HC presented a significant limitation in GF (p < 0.001). The TDI score was correlated with the subjective estimation of the olfactory capacity on a visual analog scale (VAS; rs = 0.475, p = 0.008). Neither age, sex, modified Rankin Scale nor disease duration were associated with the composite TDI score. Conclusions: This is the first study investigating OF and GF in AE patients. According to unblinded assessment, patients with AE have a reduced olfactory and gustatory capacity compared to HC, suggesting that olfactory and gustatory dysfunction are hitherto unrecognized symptoms in AE. Further studies with larger number of AE patients would be of interest to verify our results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohat Geran
- Department of Neurology, Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Center for Stroke Research, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Florian C Uecker
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Harald Prüss
- Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Friedemann Paul
- Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klemens Ruprecht
- Department of Neurology, Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lutz Harms
- Department of Neurology, Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix A Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
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