A Case of Euthyroid Steroid-Responsive Encephalopathy With Subacute Dementia

Steroid-responsive encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis (SREAT), frequently termed as Hashimoto’s encephalopathy (HE), is characterized by reversible encephalopathy with the presence of elevated antithyroid antibodies. The condition was initially described due to its association with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. We report a case of euthyroid HE presenting as subacute dementia. A 50-year-old woman presented with progressive memory decline for six weeks. Thyroid function tests, thyroid ultrasound, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were unremarkable. Electroencephalogram showed generalized slowing with triphasic waves. On magnetic resonance imaging, T1 weighted images revealed hyperintensity in bilateral basal ganglia. Antithyroglobulin and antithyroid peroxidase were markedly elevated. She improved remarkably on tablet prednisolone 60 mg once daily, confirming the suspicion of steroid-responsive encephalopathy. Thus, we conclude that patients with subacute cognitive decline could be screened for antithyroid antibodies in the dementia workup despite their euthyroid status.

• Publication year

  2021

• Venue

  Cureus

• Publication date

  2021-09-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.7759/cureus.17689PMID 34513537PMCID 8415802
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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