INTRODUCTION: Limbic encephalitis is a syndrome, most commonly paraneoplastic, related to an often undiagnosed cancer of unpredictable prognosis. Neurological symptoms are progressive for a few weeks before stabilizing.
CASE: We report a case of limbic encephalitis in a 56-year-old man, revealed by anterograde amnesia. The diagnosis was suggested after magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral hippocampal lesions, with signals that were hypointense in IR sequences and hyperintense in FLAIR. The non-neoplastic causation was suggested by an array of clinical, laboratory, imaging, and therapeutic arguments. After five years of follow-up, no neoplasia has been found.
DISCUSSION: This case provides the opportunity for a comparison of the radiologic, imaging, and neurologic findings related to bilateral lesions of the hippocampus.