AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS TREATMENTS
Once a correct diagnosis has been made, treatments can follow and are varied on a tier level; however, it has been found that early aggressive treatment always leads to the best results.
There are two tiers or lines of treatments which are called first and second line treatments. Some common first line treatments are removal of tumor or teratoma, prescribing steroids which is an immunosuppressant, plasmapheresis which is like a transfusion where the attacking antibodies are filtered out of the blood and the blood is put back in cleaned, and intravenous immunoglobulin also known as IVIG which attaches to cells in places where the attacking antibodies would attach thus stopping the attacking antibodies to carry out their attack. Steroids and IVIG will directly reduce inflammation.
If first line treatments are effective enough, a doctor may request a second line treatment. These are more potent immunosuppressants. Some work for multiple illnesses. The most common second line treatments are Rituxan aka Rituxamab, Cellcept, and Cyclophosphamamide aka Cytoxan. Cytoxan is an extremely strong medicine and is usually used in tough cases.