Autoimmune encephalitis A more treatable tragedy if diagnosed early

Approximately 20,000 cases of encephalitis occur in the United States annually. Estimated inpatient costs alone may exceed to $2 billion.1 There are long-term costs related to the morbidity and mortality that result from encephalitis. Traditionally, the education of physicians about encephalitis focuses on the infectious causes, but data from the California Encephalitis Project indicate that in 50% of the reported cases no infectious agent could be identified despite extensive testing.2 Many of these cases are now understood as autoimmune encephalitis (AE).