Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: a neurological disease in psychiatric disguise.

Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis was first described in 2005 when psychiatric features, memory loss and altered consciousness were found in four women with ovarian teratoma. We report a case of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in a 16-year-old female who presented with psychiatric features followed by autonomic dysfunction and orofacial dyskinesias that showed drastic improvement to intravenous immunoglobulin. As many patients of anti-NMDAR encephalitis initially present with psychiatric features, it is important for psychiatrists to have high index of suspicion for this disease and thus avoid the delay in diagnosing this treatable condition which may be otherwise fatal.