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INTRODUCTION

Inflammatory, autoimmune, and infectious disorders represent some of the classic medical conditions associated with neuropsychiatric symptomatology. From systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the archetypal example of a rheumatologic condition that can present with prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms, to Susac’s syndrome, a far less commonly known entity with documented neuropsychiatric disturbance typically limited to cognitive dysfunction, these conditions include the full range of clinical presentations, pathophysiologic mechanisms, and approaches to management. Immune-mediated processes contribute to the pathophysiology by which many inflammatory and infectious disorders cause brain damage and neuropsychiatric manifestations. To do justice to the wide range of disorders potentially included in this chapter would require a book in itself. Given the limitations of space and the desire to present a useful reference to the reader interested in the spectrum of neuroinflammatory/neuroimmunologic disease, this chapter discusses in detail some representative examples and presents summary tables about different categories of disorders. Please see Table 26-1 for key cognitive and neuropsychiatric features of selected rheumatic diseases, including SLE.1–19

TABLE 26-1Clinical Features of Rheumatic Diseases with Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Sequelae

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