Brain metabolites and regional cerebral blood volume altered in anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients

Motivation: The chronic phase of autoimmune encephalitis includes persistent loss of cognitive and adaptive functions leading to long-term disability. MR-based modalities help in longitudinal studies to understand disease progression and response to treatment. Goal(s): To investigate the in vivo MRI-based methods sensitive to detecting the alterations in metabolites and perfusion in encephalitis patients. Approach: 1H-MRS and rCBV were performed on encephalitis patients with memory deficits and healthy controls. Results: Changes in metabolite concentrations in the hippocampus and cortex suggest the long-term effect of neuroinflammation in patients. Reduced hippocampal rCBV in memory deficit patients is consistent with clinical cognitive assessments. Impact: Altered brain metabolite concentrations and regional blood volume were detected with 1H-MRS and rCBV in autoimmune encephalitis and memory deficit patients. This approach can support the investigation of the role of angiogenesis and neurogenesis in memory loss in chronic encephalitis.