Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1647087

Autoimmune encephalitis in Latin America. Clinical features and outcomes in pediatric and adult populations: Retrospective cohort of The REAL LABIC Project

Provisionally accepted
Miguel A.  VencesMiguel A. Vences1*Christoper  A. Alarcon RuizChristoper A. Alarcon Ruiz2Mary Marcela  Araujo ChumaceroMary Marcela Araujo Chumacero3Diego  Canales – PichenDiego Canales – Pichen3Victor  SaquiselaVictor Saquisela3Jesús  Domínguez-RojasJesús Domínguez-Rojas4Donoband  MelgarejoDonoband Melgarejo5Saúl  Reyes-NiñoSaúl Reyes-Niño6Cintia  JohnstonCintia Johnston7Maricela  García-ArellanoMaricela García-Arellano8MERCEDES AMNELY  SUAREZ LOROMERCEDES AMNELY SUAREZ LORO3Cibele  Lopes Queiroz de LimaCibele Lopes Queiroz de Lima9José Domingo  Barrientos GuerraJosé Domingo Barrientos Guerra10Vanessa Cristina  Waetge Pires de GodoyVanessa Cristina Waetge Pires de Godoy7William  Bayona PancorboWilliam Bayona Pancorbo11Carla Gabriela  Román OjedaCarla Gabriela Román Ojeda11Stefany  Espinoza-RamonStefany Espinoza-Ramon3Karen  PeralesKaren Perales12Katya  GranelaKatya Granela13Jorge  FlechaJorge Flecha5Marlene  RomeroMarlene Romero5Habib Georges  Moutran BarrosoHabib Georges Moutran Barroso6Jaime  ToroJaime Toro6Werther Brunow  CarvalhoWerther Brunow Carvalho7Miguel Ángel  Pelcastre MejíaMiguel Ángel Pelcastre Mejía8Kátia Yuri Xavier  Mizumoto SoaresKátia Yuri Xavier Mizumoto Soares9Ana Beatriz  Sonta-ChanAna Beatriz Sonta-Chan10Alejandra  Gramajo-JuárezAlejandra Gramajo-Juárez10Victor  Edwin  Ore MontalvoVictor Edwin Ore Montalvo11Silvia Fabiola  García MartínezSilvia Fabiola García Martínez10Belkis  de la CandelariaBelkis de la Candelaria13Daniel  Agustin GodoyDaniel Agustin Godoy14
  • 1Universidad Cesar Vallejo Piura, Piura, Peru
  • 2Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima District, Peru
  • 3Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, Lima District, Peru
  • 4Instituto Nacional de Salud del Nino, Lima District, Peru
  • 5Hospital Central del Instituto de Prevision Social Dr Emilio Cubas, Asunción, Paraguay
  • 6Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 7Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 8Centenario Hospital Miguel Hidalgo., Aguascalientes, Mexico
  • 9Hospital infantil Cândido Fontoura., São Paulo, Brazil
  • 10Hospital General San Juan de Dios, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • 11Hospital Nacional Adolfo Guevara Velasco, Essalud., Cusco, Peru
  • 12Organización Clínica General del Norte de la Ciudad de Barranquilla Atlántico, Baranquilla, Colombia
  • 13Clinica General del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia
  • 14Sanatório Pasteur, Catamarca, Argentina

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The Autoimmune Encephalitis Registry in Latin American countries (REAL LABIC Project) is an initiative created to conduct research focused on the epidemiological and clinical aspects of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) in the region. This study describes the sociodemographic profile, clinical presentation, treatment, and follow-up outcomes of patients diagnosed with AE across multiple reference centers from Latin America. Methods: A retrospective, multicenter cohort study was conducted in 10 hospitals across 6 countries from Latin America. Medical records of pediatric and adult patients hospitalized between July 2017 to June 2022 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were diagnostic of probable or definite AE according to consensus diagnostic criteria by Graus et al. Comparative analyses were performed between pediatric and adult groups using hypothesis contrast tests.The study included 165 patients, 57.6% were under 18 years of age. Confirmed antibody-mediated AE was more frequent in pediatric patients, with anti-NMDA receptor antibodies identified in 53.5% of cases (CSF/serum). The median time from symptom onset to hospital admission was 8 days, significantly shorter in pediatrics (p = 0.027). A preceding viral prodrome was more common also in pediatrics (p = 0.003). ICU admission was required in 53.9% of cases, predominantly among pediatrics (p = 0.011). First-line immunotherapy was administered in 92.1% of patients, most commonly combining corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin. Early initiation of treatment (≤7 days) was associated with better response in pediatrics. At six-month follow-up, 45.5% of patients showed persistent neurological disability (mRS:2-5). Minor cognitive impairment was the most frequent long-term sequela. In-hospital complications were reported in 53.3% of cases, and the overall mortality rate was 19.4%. Conclusion: This is the first regional multicenter study of autoimmune encephalitis in Latin America highlighting the above findings.The findings presents the first regional multicenter study of patients diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis in Latin America. There wereas no significant differences in the mostmost of the analyzed variables between pediatric and adult populations. Future research should address the strengths and limitations of this registry with the aim to gainof gaining a broader understanding of autoimmune encephalitis in our region.

Keywords: Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis, Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System, Encephalitis, Critical care outcomes, Latin America

Received: 14 Jun 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Vences, Alarcon Ruiz, Araujo Chumacero, Canales – Pichen, Saquisela, Domínguez-Rojas, Melgarejo, Reyes-Niño, Johnston, García-Arellano, SUAREZ LORO, Lopes Queiroz de Lima, Barrientos Guerra, Waetge Pires de Godoy, Bayona Pancorbo, Román Ojeda, Espinoza-Ramon, Perales, Granela, Flecha, Romero, Moutran Barroso, Toro, Carvalho, Pelcastre Mejía, Mizumoto Soares, Sonta-Chan, Gramajo-Juárez, Ore Montalvo, García Martínez, de la Candelaria and Godoy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Miguel A. Vences, Universidad Cesar Vallejo Piura, Piura, Peru

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.