A Case of Limbic Encephalitis Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer: About Diagnostic MRI Findings

ABSTRACT

Limbic encephalitis is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by prominent memory impairment, affective and behavioral disturbances, and progressive intellectual deterioration. Among many different neoplasm known to cause limbic encephalitis, a small cell lung cancer is certainly the most frequently reported. We experienced a 64-years old male patient presented with clinical features consistent with limbic encephalitis. He was subsequently found to have small cell lung cancer and showed characteristic evolutional MRI features ; increased signal intensity on T2 weighted image in the bilateral medial temporal regions during early stage and progressive severe atrophy in the late stage.