A case of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in a woman with a NMDA-R(+) small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC).

The association of small cell lung cancer with anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is rare. We report a 62 year old patient who developed psychiatric disorders followed by epilepsy, movement disorders, mutism and hypoventilation. Flair weighted brain MRI sequences showed diffuse high signals in the limbic system. Anti-NMDAR antibodies were detected in the serum and CSF. The patient's IgGs reacted with the patient's own tumor cells and with 2 out of 4 small cell lung cancers of patients without neurological syndrome.