Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34975576›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in psychiatry2021

Autoimmune Encephalitis and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Paul Whiteley, Ben Marlow, Ritika R Kapoor, Natasa Blagojevic-Stokic, Regina Sala

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. The curious absence of psychosis in GRIN1-related neurodevelopmental disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Autoimmune Neuroinflammatory Diseases: Role of Interleukins.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Paul WhiteleyESPA Research, Sunderland, United Kingdom.
Ben MarlowColchester Hospital, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Colchester, United Kingdom.
Ritika R KapoorPaediatric Endocrinology, Variety Club Children's Hospital, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Natasa Blagojevic-StokicThinking Autism, London, United Kingdom.
Regina SalaCentre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust · GBKing's College London · GBQueen Mary University of London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The concept of "acquired autism" refers to the hypothesis that amongst the massive heterogeneity that encompasses autism spectrum disorder (ASD) there may be several phenotypes that are neither syndromic nor innate. Strong and consistent evidence has linked exposure to various pharmacological and infective agents with an elevated risk of a diagnosis of ASD including maternal valproate use, rubella and herpes encephalitis. Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) describes a group of conditions characterised by the body's immune system mounting an attack on healthy brain cells causing brain inflammation. The resultant cognitive, psychiatric and neurological symptoms that follow AE have also included ASD or autism-like traits and states. We review the current literature on AE and ASD. Drawing also on associated literature on autoimmune psychosis (AP) and preliminary evidence of a psychosis-linked subtype of ASD, we conclude that AE may either act as a potentially causative agent for ASD, and/or produce symptoms that could easily be mistaken for or misdiagnosed as autism. Further studies are required to discern the connection between AE and autism. Where autism is accompanied by regression and atypical onset patterns, it may be prudent to investigate whether a differential diagnosis of AE would be more appropriate.

Indexed as

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)autoantibodiesautoimmune encephalitis (AE)autoimmune psychosis (AP)immune systemmisdiagnosisneuroinflammation

Identifiers

PMID34975576
PMCPMC8718789
OpenAlexW4200070871

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.