ArticleScientific reports2015
Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Knut.
Article in Scientific reports, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monoclonal humanized monovalent antibody blocking therapy for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Distinctive seizure signature in the first video case-control study of a naturally-occurring feline autoimmune encephalitis model.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Case Report: Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin in foxes (Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Case report: Antibodies to myelin basic protein in a podenco-crossbreed dog with seizures.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Canine idiopathic generalized tremor syndrome, immune-mediated?Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Parallel roles of neuroinflammation in feline and human epilepsies.Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997) · 2022Review
- Modelling Neurological Diseases in Large Animals: Criteria for Model Selection and Clinical Assessment.Cells · 2022Review
- The evolution of powerful yet perilous immune systems.Trends in immunology · 2022Review
- Molecular characterization ofJournal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2022Article
- Case Report: Anti-GABAFrontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
- Autoantibodies in neurological disease.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2021Review
- Presence of cerebrospinal fluid antibodies associated with autoimmune encephalitis of humans in dogs with neurologic disease.Journal of veterinary internal medicine · 2019Article
- Autoimmune receptor encephalitis in mice induced by active immunization with conformationally stabilized holoreceptors.Science translational medicine · 2019Article
- Review
- A cross-species approach to disorders affecting brain and behaviour.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2018Review
- Autoimmune Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Astrocytopathy: A Review of the Literature.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
- All naturally occurring autoantibodies against the NMDA receptor subunit NR1 have pathogenic potential irrespective of epitope and immunoglobulin class.Molecular psychiatry · 2017Article
- Persistence of parenchymal and perivascular T-cells in treatment-refractory anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis.Neuroreport · 2017Article
- Red Flags: Clinical Signs for Identifying Autoimmune Encephalitis in Psychiatric Patients.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2017Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Knut the polar bear of the Berlin Zoological Garden drowned in 2011 following seizures and was diagnosed as having suffered encephalitis of unknown etiology after exhaustive pathogen screening. Using the diagnostic criteria applied to human patients, we demonstrate that Knut's encephalitis is almost identical to anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis which is a severe autoimmune disease representing the most common non-infectious encephalitis in humans. High concentrations of antibodies specific against the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor were detected in Knut's cerebrospinal fluid. Histological examination demonstrated very similar patterns of plasma cell infiltration and minimal neuronal loss in affected brain areas. We conclude that Knut suffered anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis making his the first reported non-human case of this treatable disease. The results suggest that anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis may be a disease of broad relevance to mammals that until now has remained undiagnosed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.