New-Onset Status Epilepticus and Severe Behavioural Dysfunction in Anti-Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid B Receptor Encephalitis

The autoimmune encephalitides are an increasingly recognised group of neurological disorders. Among them, anti-gamma-aminobutyric acid B receptor (anti-GABA(B)R) encephalitis is a severe, frequently paraneoplastic autoimmune syndrome characterised by early, refractory seizures and prominent limbic dysfunction. Because initial neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid studies may be unremarkable, early cognitive and psychiatric manifestations are frequently misattributed to primary psychiatric disorders or adverse effects of anti-seizure medications. Here, we report the first case of a patient with anti-GABA(B)R encephalitis who first presented with the common symptom of a seizure in the state of Sabah, Malaysia.