Many named disorders are thought to be related to brain inflammation. A person with brain inflammation may have one of these diagnoses as well — in which case it is called a “comorbidity.” Frequently, other people in the family have diagnoses from this list too, a clue that genetic factors may be at play.
Conditions often accompanying inflammatory brain disease
Chronic brain inflammation is associated with a wide range of disorders. Some of these are neurobehavioral, but many affect the whole body too. Even the disorders with mostly neurobehavioral symptoms vary a lot depending on which areas of the brain are affected. Scientists are now trying to understand the role of inflammation in these illnesses, but more research is needed.
Disorders that are mostly neurobehavioral
- mood disorders
- depression
- eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder)
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- tic disorders
- ADHD
- PTSD
- narcolepsy
- autoimmune encephalitis
- PANDAS/PANS
- autism spectrum disorders
- bipolar disorder
- psychotic disorders and schizophrenia
- Parkinsons
- multiple sclerosis
- Alzheimers
Disorders involving the rest of the body:
- lupus
- long COVID
- rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritis
- POTS (Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
- EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome)
- MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome)
- thyroid disease
- psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
- Sjogrens disease
- Bechet’s disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- rheumatic fever
- other autoimmune illnesses
- immune deficiencies
