Tag: autoimmune encephalitis

Not So Rare But Rarely Diagnosed: From Demonic Possession to Anti-NMDA...

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Throughout the ages, convulsions, contortions of the body and face, including the tongue, super-human strength, catatonic periods, long periods of wakefulness or sleep, insensitivity to pain, speaking in tongues, and a predilection for self-injurious behaviours have all been offered as physical evidence of possession. The modern day interpretation, however, comes with a plot twist befitting a media spectacle. There is growing consensus in the medical community that many prior accounts of ā€œdemonic possessionā€ may have represented original accounts of what is now broadly known as autoimmune encephalitis.