{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T00:04:25Z","timestamp":1782691465966,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664236800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Aging Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Anti-neural autoantibody-associated cognitive impairment is an increasing phenomenon in memory clinics deserving more attention to applying immunotherapy such as methylprednisolone to improve cognition. Our study aims to investigate the usefulness of intravenous high-dosage corticosteroids in a small cohort of patients suffering from anti-neural autoantibody-associated cognitive impairment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We included in our retrospective case series seven patients presenting diverse neural autoantibodies and cognitive impairments varying from a mild impairment to dementia. We conducted neuropsychological and psychopathological investigations before and after the application of high intravenous methylprednisolone therapy over a 6-month period. Neuropsychological function was assessed by the CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease) test battery. Patients were also characterized by assessing their patient files for demographic and clinical data.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The patients\u2019 cognitive subdomains did not improve according to CERAD in their z-scores before and after immunotherapy. We noted a non-significant trend toward an improvement in semantic fluency and verbal memory consolidation. Patients did not do worse in 4 of 12 (33%) cognitive subdomains in the CERAD test battery. Furthermore, mood dysfunction lessened as a non-significant trend in specific psychopathological features such as reduced affective symptoms, loss of drive, and ruminations. Affective symptoms, loss of drive and ruminations were reduced by 43% after immunotherapy.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our small pilot study revealed no relevant alleviation of cognitive dysfunction in patients with neural autoantibodies. However, mood dysfunction became less obvious in specific functions concerning affect, drive, and rumination. However, we do not know whether methylprednisolone affects mood dysfunction, as some patients were taking antidepressant drugs at the same time. Our results might indicate that methylprednisolone immunotherapy is associated with impeding the progression of cognitive dysfunction and reducing mood dysfunction. Further large-scale, placebo-controlled studies in a more homogeneous patient population presenting a uniform pattern of neural autoantibodies should be undertaken.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnagi.2022.856876","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T14:37:09Z","timestamp":1664289429000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Immunotherapy with corticosteroids in anti-neural autoantibody-associated cognitive impairment: Retrospective case series"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Niels","family":"Hansen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sina","family":"Hirschel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristin","family":"Rentzsch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jens","family":"Wiltfang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Berend","family":"Malchow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Fitzner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"897","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp-2020-325302","article-title":"Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance Clinicians Network. Autoimmune encephalitis: Proposed recommendations for symptomatic and long-term management.","volume":"92","author":"Abboud","year":"","journal-title":"J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"757","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp-2020-325300","article-title":"Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance Clinicians Network. Autoimmune encephalitis: Proposed best practice recommendations for diagnosis and acute management.","volume":"92","author":"Abboud","year":"","journal-title":"J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry"},{"key":"B3","year":"2013","journal-title":"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5\u00a7)"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1756286421998906","article-title":"Autoimmune encephalopathies presenting as dementia of subacute onset and rapid progression.","volume":"14","author":"Banks","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ther. Adv. Neurol. Disord."},{"key":"B5","author":"Broome","year":"2017","journal-title":"Manual for the Assessment and Documentation of Psychopathology in Psychiatry (The ADMP System)"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"194","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2012.09.035","article-title":"Clinical and neurobiological case of IgM NMDA receptor antibody associated encephalitis mimicking bipolar disorder.","volume":"208","author":"Choe","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291720002895","article-title":"Autoantibody-associated psychiatric syndromes: A systematic literature review resulting in 145 cases.","volume":"7","author":"Endres","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol. Med."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"881","DOI":"10.4065\/mcp.2010.0326","article-title":"Autoimmune dementia: Clinical course and predictors of immunotherapy response.","volume":"85","author":"Flanagan","year":"2010","journal-title":"Mayo Clin. Proc."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(15)00401-9","article-title":"A clinical approach to diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis.","volume":"15","author":"Graus","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnagi.2021.711195","article-title":"Current nosology of neural-autoantibody associated dementia","volume":"13","author":"Hansen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Aging Neurosci."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yebeh.2016.10.016","article-title":"Seizure control and cognitive improvement via immunotherapy in late onset epilepsy patients with paraneoplastic versus GAD65 autoantibody-associated limbic encephalitis.","volume":"65","author":"Hansen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Epilepsy. Behav."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psym.2019.03.002","article-title":"Delirious Mania as a Neuropsychiatric Presentation in Patients With Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis.","volume":"61","author":"Restrepo-Mart\u00ednez","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychosomatics"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnagi.2022.856876\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T14:37:13Z","timestamp":1664289433000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnagi.2022.856876\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"references-count":12,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fnagi.2022.856876"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnagi.2022.856876","relation":{},"ISSN":["1663-4365"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1663-4365","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"article-number":"856876"}}