Autoimmunity, seizures, and status epilepticus.

The recent discovery of a category of autoimmune encephalitis associated with antibodies against neuronal cell-surface and synaptic proteins has renewed interest for autoimmune causes of epilepsy. The identification of autoimmune encephalitis has changed paradigms in the diagnosis and management of several novel and treatable syndromes that occur with seizures and status epilepticus previously attributed to viral or idiopathic etiologies. This review focuses on the novel group of autoimmune encephalitis and also discusses some classical paraneoplastic syndromes that constitute another group of autoimmune disorders that may result in seizures.