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CASE REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1557210
This article is part of the Research Topic Autoimmune Diseases: from molecular mechanisms to therapy development View all 3 articles
Efficacy of ofatumumab in refractory anti-NMDAR encephalitis：case series and literature review
Provisionally accepted- Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is the most common autoimmune encephalitis. When firstline treatments fail, second-line therapies are employed. However, a standardized approach for second-line treatment has yet to be established. We presented three cases of anti-NMDAR encephalitis with seizures and psychosis as the primary symptom. These patients showed inadequate response to initial treatments, including intravenous immunoglobulin, methylprednisolone, and plasma exchange. However, their symptoms were effectively controlled following subcutaneous administration of ofatumumab. Previous studies have reported that twelve cases of anti-NMDAR encephalitis were effectively treated with ofatumumab. In this study, the modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores at the last follow-up for all fifteen patients (including our three cases) were significantly lower compared to scores at the peak of the disease (p < 0.001). Thirteen patients achieved full recovery. These findings suggest that CD20 monoclonal antibodies, particularly ofatumumab, may offer a promising treatment option for anti-NMDAR encephalitis.
Keywords: NMDAR, Encephalitis, Ofatumumab, CD20 monoclonal antibody, Treatment
Received: 08 Jan 2025; Accepted: 26 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Deng, Xiong, Hu, Kong and Li. 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:
Tao Li, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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