This research aims to characterize the prevalence of psychiatric sequelae of Autoimmune Encephalitis (AIE) and Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS).

Damage to the central nervous system from AIE or SPS can cause long-term effects. Chronic depression and anxiety are common, but little is known about other psychiatric and behavioral symptoms such as impulsivity, suicidality, and aggression in these populations.

Individuals with antibody-positive AIE and individuals with antibody-positive SPS were identified from a neuroimmunology clinic and completed multiple validated self-rated questionnaires assessing recent psychiatric symptoms including suicidality, aggression, impulsivity, depression, and anxiety, in a cross-sectional study design. A comparison group of individuals who see a general neurologist for any reason other than AIE or SPS also completed the same questionnaires. Mean questionnaire scores were compared between groups using Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallace H-tests, given the data was not normally distributed. Prevalence of suicidal thoughts were calculated within each group.

This ongoing study will continue to investigate psychiatric symptoms in people with AIE or SPS. Characterizing psychiatric symptoms in these populations may result in increased awareness of these symptoms, better management and improved health-related quality of life. These preliminary results are limited by small sample sizes.