Neurobehavioral & Cognitive Disorders
Mental status examination
Jun. 17, 2026
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Support: service@medlink.com
Editor: editor@medlink.com
ISSN: 2831-9125
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IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a progressive, systemic autoimmune condition characterized by the proliferation and infiltration of IgG4+ plasma cells in affected organs, associated with storiform fibrosis. It can affect nearly all organs, including the central nervous system (CNS)—particularly the meninges and the pituitary gland. The disease affects men more frequently than women, with a median age of onset of around 50 to 60 years.
The main manifestations of the disease are inflammatory pseudotumors, infiltrative lesions, or vasculitis. The organs most commonly affected organs are the biliopancreatic area, the lymph nodes, and the salivary glands. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in IgG4-RD usually presents as hypertrophic pachymeningitis, affecting the brain and/or spine, hypophysitis, and, less frequently as inflammatory pseudotumoral brain lesions. The prevalence of immunoglobulin G4-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis (IgG4-HP) and immunoglobulin G4-related hypophysitis (IgG4-H) is unknown. Large cohorts of IgG4-RD patients usually report a prevalence of about 1% to 5%, whereas small cohorts report a prevalence of nearly 35%. This discrepancy is primarily due to differences in diagnostic procedures, which use whole-body imaging to detect asymptomatic locations of the disease. Consequently, many instances of CNS involvement in IgG4-RD remain asymptomatic. Despite its low prevalence, neurologists must be aware of this disease as cases of idiopathic pachymeningitis or hypophysitis have been found to correlate with IgG4-RD pathological findings retrospectively.
A variety of symptoms have been reported in IgG4-HP and IgG4-H, primarily resulting from compression of neighboring structures or organ failure caused by inflammatory infiltration and/or fibrosis. When examining patients with suspected CNS IgG4-RD, clinicians should focus on extracranial symptoms, as a systemic form of the disease occurs in approximately 60% of patients (21; 18; 19; 20).
In 2019, the American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) introduced a new classification criteria for IgG4-RD in three steps (33). These criteria provide an accurate life characterization of the disease and allow physicians to use them as an aid to diagnosing IgG4-RD, particularly in cases where pathological analysis. is unavailable. However, it is important to note that CNS involvement in IgG4-RD can present as an isolated organ disease, and, in such cases, most established classification criteria may not be useful. Thus, pathological analysis remains essential.
Apart from pathological analysis, there are no specific biomarkers for diagnosing IgG4-RD, particularly IgG4-HP or IgG4-H. Although serum IgG4 concentration increases in most patients with IgG4-RD, it only increases in 50% of patients with IgG4-HP and 75% of patients with IgG4-H. Higher serum IgG4 levels are found in patients with IgG4-RD who have a systemic disease. However, patients with single-organ involvement or a predominant fibrotic pattern (eg, pachymeningitis or retroperitoneal fibrosis) often have lower serum IgG4 concentrations (15). Therefore, an elevated serum IgG4 concentration should prompt physicians to perform whole-body scans to look for a locations that could guide a non-neural biopsy, but this is not sufficient on its own to diagnose IgG4-RD. Recent studies have found that an increase in serum IgG4 levels above the upper limit of normal (ULN) is more frequently found in alternative diagnoses than in IgG4-RD (29), and that an increase in serum IgG4 concentration of more than 5 the upper limit of normal is observed in disorders other than IgG4-RD in approximately 25% of cases (03). Importantly, in patients with IgG4-RD and elevated serum IgG4 concentrations at diagnosis, monitoring serum IgG4 levels has been shown to guide the response to treatment and identify early relapse. Therefore, serum IgG4 concentration is a good biomarker with which to assess the activity of IgG4-RD.
Treatment for IgG4-RD, when required, usually begins with steroid therapy, at a dose of 0.5 to 0.6 mg/kg/day. Steroids are often tapered over a period of 3 to 6 months. In cases of specific central nervous system (CNS) involvement, decompressive surgery is often necessary, alongside intravenous pulse methylprednisolone. Since 2024, the therapeutic perspective has evolved, as patients with IgG4-RD may present with distinct histopathological phenotypes: (i) an inflammatory lymphoproliferative phenotype, and (ii) a fibrotic phenotype. The latter is less responsive to steroid therapy. In such cases, the main treatment remains surgical removal of fibrosis. The efficacy of antifibrotic drugs, which are used in other fibrotic conditions, needs to be evaluated (15).
Immunosuppressive drugs should be considered for patients with severe manifestations requiring urgent treatment, for patients dependent on high-dose steroids (> 7.5 mg/day of prednisone), or for patients at risk of relapse (32). Although many drugs have been reported to be effective in treating IgG4-RD, B-cell-depletive treatments such as rituximab or inebilizumab have shown remarkable efficacy in reducing the relapse rate, the need for steroids, the volume, the inflammatory masses, and blood IgG4 concentrations.
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• Little is known about IgG4-HP and IgG4-H; our understanding of these conditions is based on case series and literature reviews. | |
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• IgG4-HP and IgG4-H are unusual syndromes, but many cases of idiopathic pachymeningitis or hypophysitis have been found to be IgG4-RD retrospectively. | |
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• Pathological analysis is essential for diagnosis and should be interpreted together with clinical, biological, and imaging data to avoid misdiagnosis. | |
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• Systemic disease occurs in more than 50% of patients. |
The IgG4-RD is a recognized pathology with the following historical timeline:
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In 2001 |
First description of IgG4-RD (12). |
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In 2003 |
First description of extra-pancreatic location of IgG4-RD. |
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Since 2003 |
Nearly all anatomic sites were described in association with IgG4-RD. |
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In 2004 |
First description of IgG4-related hypophysitis (31). |
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In 2009 |
First description of IgG4-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis (07). |
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In 2011 |
First diagnostic criteria for IgG4-related hypophysitis. |
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In 2012 |
Two Japanese teams provide the first comprehensive diagnostic criteria for systemic IgG4-RD (30). |
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In 2012 |
Massachusetts General Hospital physicians developed the Responder Index as a revised tool to assess IgG4-RD activity and severity (05). |
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In 2015 |
Massachusetts General Hospital IgG4-RD team shows the importance of blood total plasmablast count to assess IgG4-RD activity (32). |
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In 2015 |
A multicentric American prospective trial showed the efficacy of B-cell depletion with rituximab in IgG4-RD (06). |
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In 2019 |
The American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism provided new international diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD (33). |
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In 2025 |
First multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial showing the efficacy of using B-cell depleting agent (ie, targeting CD19+ cells, inebilizumab) (27). |
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In 2025 |
Recognition of IgG4-RD as a systemic vasculitis affecting all caliber blood vessels (veins and arteries) (27). |
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MedLink, LLC
3525 Del Mar Heights Rd, Ste 304
San Diego, CA 92130-2122
Toll Free (U.S. + Canada): 800-452-2400
US Number: +1-619-640-4660
Support: service@medlink.com
Editor: editor@medlink.com
ISSN: 2831-9125