AE is a type of brain inflammation in which the body’s own immune system goes on the attack, damaging healthy cells and tissues in the brain or spinal cord. It is rare but is a very complex disease that causes rapid changes in both physical and mental health. It can be a cause of Autism.
Treatments for AE can include immunotherapies such as steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and medication Rituximab. Another option is plasmapheresis, a process in which the liquid part of the blood, or plasma, is separated from the blood cells. Usually this is replaced with an alternative solution such as saline or albumin, or the plasma is treated before being returned to your body.
Interestingly, many of these treatments have also been shown to reduce the core symptoms of autism, even without diagnosis of AE. A recent study looking at 40 children with autism, carried out by Rocha-Brito and colleagues, showed the steroid prednisone was effective in the treatment for improving social communication and language impairments in these children. Similarly, several small scale trials, like the one by Melamed and colleagues, have demonstrated that IVIG treatment can be effective at reducing core symptoms of autism in a subgroup of children.
AE as a condition appears differently in children in comparison to adults. Usually In teenagers and adults the symptoms are of a psychiatric nature, such as psychosis, delusions and hallucinations, whilst these often don’t occur in children. AE in adults is normally associated with a tumour, however this is rare in children with AE.
However, movement disorders and seizures are significantly more common in children, alongside irritability, anxiety and constant crying. In many cases you may notice a loss of eye contact and interest in surroundings. A symptom to look out for in very young children/toddlers is movement and gait abnormalities – unsteady walking and loss of balance, as there can lead to early diagnosis.
It is important to remember not all people with AE will be Autistic and not everyone who is Autistic will have AE. Autism is a spectrum each child may have different needs or conditions. No person is the same.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278584620303444
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-006-0353-1
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