A Case of Paraneoplastic Limbic Encephalitis Associated with Primary Adenocarcinoma of Lung.

Shin, Hyun Jong; Kim, Hyun Soo; Lim, Keum Nam; Noh, U Seok; Choi, Jung Hye; Kim, In Soon; Lee, Young Yeul; Park, Byeong Bae; Park, Dong Woo

doi:2007.63.4.382

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 63(4); 2007 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2007;63(4):382-386.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2007.63.4.382 Published online October 1, 2007.

A Case of Paraneoplastic Limbic Encephalitis Associated with Primary Adenocarcinoma of Lung.

Hyun Jong Shin, Hyun Soo Kim, Keum Nam Lim, U Seok Noh, Jung Hye Choi, In Soon Kim, Young Yeul Lee, Byeong Bae Park, Dong Woo Park

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Guri, Korea. jhcmd@hanyang.ac.kr
²Department of Radiology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Guri, Korea.

Abstract

Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is a rare disorder that is characterized by personality changes, irritability, depression, seizures, memory loss and dementia, and is commonly associated with small cell lung cancer. The cause is unknown but it is believed to be an autoimmune disorder that develops secondary to a carcinomatous process. We report a patient with the clinical feature consistent with limbic encephalitis. A 64-year-old women developed disorientation, memory loss and general weakness. She was diagnosed with NSCLC (adenocarcinoma) with a brain metastasis 1 year earlier and was treated with radiation and chemotherapy. Although the lung mass and brain metastatic lesions had improved, the brain T2-weighted MRI showed high signal intensity in the right temporal region. This lesion consisted of with limbic encephalitis and was negative to the other viral and immune markers. The patient's symptoms did not improve after steroid treatment. Our case demonstrated that a NSCLC (adenocarcinoma) also can be associated with paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis.

Key Words: Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis, Non-small cell lung cancer