Limbic encephalitis as the presenting symptom of oesophageal adenocarcinoma: another cancer to search?

Limbic encephalitis is a syndrome characterised by irritability, depression, sleeping disturbance, convulsion, hallucination and short-period memory loss that is commonly associated with a malignancy even if there is no evidence of it by the time of presentation. Most reported cases of limbic encephalitis as a paraneoplastic syndrome are associated with small-cell lung cancer and lymphoma. This article is a case report of a patient with limbic encephalitis associated with an oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The patient is a middle-aged man who presented apathy and unstable mood. After months, developed diplopia, reduced visual acuity and involuntary movements. Later, gait disability, disorientation, memory loss and aggressive behaviour were detected, associated with seizures. After investigation, limbic encephalitis was diagnosed and, as the patient developed dysphagia, oesophageal adenocarcinoma was detected. Oesophageal carcinoma usually does not have neurological symptoms associated.