A woman who displayed symptoms of irritation and paranoia has been diagnosed with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (anti-NMDA) receptor encephalitis, a type of neurological autoimmune disease, a doctor said on Thursday.
Physicians at Asia University Hospital had to sedate a 35-year-old woman surnamed Tsai (蔡) before admitting her, as she was thrashing around, neurologist Wang Hsin-fan (王馨範) said.
After conducting tests, doctors found that Tsai had more than the regular amount of white blood cells and protein, but a slight decrease in blood sugar and blood flow to the brain, Wang said.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
While in the hospital, Tsai experienced epileptic attacks, respiratory depression, an irregular heart rate (cardiac dysrhythmia), elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream (hypercapnia), dystonia, fluctuation of blood pressure, unconsciousness and fever, he added.
Tsai at one point had to be placed on breathing support and was initially given antibacterials and steroids, Wang said.
After a cerebrospinal fluid analysis, doctors suspected that Tsai had meningitis, Wang said, adding that it was only after a lab analysis for anti-glutamate receptor antibodies that doctors determined she had anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Tsai then underwent plasmapheresis, which removes harmful antibodies from the blood through a process similar to dialysis, restoring consciousness to Tsai and normalizing her blood pressure and heartbeat, Wang said.
After treatment, Tsai was able to take care of her basic needs, although she still became easily angered before her discharge from the hospital, Wang said.
Initial symptoms for anti-MNDA receptor encephalitis are similar to that for meningitis and can only be differentiated after a cerebrospinal fluid analysis for the antibodies is conducted, Wang said.
About 40 percent of people with the condition develop tumors, while others exhibit immune system abnormalities, Wang said, adding that they should undergo extensive immunotherapy and take additional tests for potential tumors.
Delayed treatment could lead to sequela, which could be fatal if severe enough, he said.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods